Those Bound By Chains Of Guilt
by Illuminet
Summary: AU An idea I just had to get out of my head. Father can't meet daughter because he's in prison. Father gets released from prison and meets daughter. Father and daughter start to bond? Be warned that there is excessive swearing on Sol's part. COMPLETE
1. Odd First Impressions

Those Bound By Chains Of Guilt  
  
Written By Illuminet  
  
Disclaimer: Be aware that the characters written within this story are the property of the talented and brilliant minded people of Sammy Studios and Arc System Works. They are in no way owned by me.  
  
Note: Unfortunately, stories such as this one that are born from dreams rather than being well thought out usually tend to not last very long. This story will be multi chaptered, but updates will not be made very frequently(hopefully from one to two months at the latest, but I'm not sure...) , so be warned of that. Other than that, hopefully the readers will enjoy this rather quirky idea of mine. Also note that this story is some what of an AU and a lot of characters are OOC. The beginning part of this story explains how Gears came to be in a way that fits how the real story will take place, but it is still very similar to the official Guilty Gear story line, so you can skip a good deal of it if you wish.  
  
"..."-Indicate Speech  
  
'...'-Indicate Thought  
  
------  
  
[Preface (Be warned that it's long, but you can skip most of it if you want...)]  
  
Gears...  
  
Surely just creations of Man as he tried to play God. As their name implies, they are simply tools to do Man's bidding. Pawns if you will. As fate might have it, Gears are perhaps the closest thing to human Man has ever made. This is most likely do to the fact that Gears are made through conversions of a normal human being into a higher living creature with the a humanoid look, machine like logical brain, reflexes and instincts also apparent in animals, and higher magical properties than a normal human could ever attain.  
  
As always of course, as was stated earlier, this form of Man's creation wasn't without it's flaws. As we all should know, humans are born with their own free will. If a human was to undergo the conversion from human to Gear, they more often than not will lose that free will and can be controlled only by command. This is why those who went under Gear conversion were usually those people who donated their bodies to science upon their deaths. Yes, considered a miracle by man, the ability to resurrect the dead into a Gear and make him or her a loyal servant to whomever had paid for the process and wanted a loyal servant.  
  
This is how Gears began life in the world, as servants and slaves. Bound to their masters because they could do nothing on their own without commands to guide them. The United States were the first to begin what was called the Gear Project, which soon became wide spread to other nations as a way of creating this serving form of beings. A sad fate would soon follow for this biological race, however.  
  
Power. Everyone craves it. The Military of different nations soon founded a different means of purpose that Gears could serve. War. A simple word that means those with the greatest power force their will on the lesser powers. Gears were always naturally stronger than the race that created them, yet they could not take care of themselves or their masters without orders. This is how opportunity struck. Gears...the perfect soldiers. Nations have always wanted to expand their power and territory. So what better way then create a sizable amount of Gears to wage war on other nations? War soon became so commonplace all around the world. One fact held true: Nations that had the most Gears at their disposal ruled other ones. Man would soon be undersided and hard pressed when in the middle of their great many wars, a Gear would soon rise to be the guide to it's own race.  
  
She remained nameless at first. When she regained the ability that was lost on her when she had been human, the ability of self awareness and free will, she became the Gears messiah. Gears called her Justice. A fitting name for the leader who would lead this created race into one that would no longer take orders from humans, but rather, live their own lives free from oppression as they had for so long now.   
  
Justice, at first, wanted to resolve things peacefully between both Human and Gear. Give rights to the Gear so that they could live safely. Man, in his arrogance of having existed through far many more ages in comparison to his own created race, would have none of it. They eagerly and foolishly waged war against the Gears, and so, Justice did the same. The battles were terribly fierce, and Gears were winning, although the battle was a long and grueling one on both sides. Humans still proved more resourceful and soon found a means to counter the Gears awesome fighting prowess.  
  
As odd as it was, the very creator of the first Gears also is noted to have constructed a set of weapons as a means to fend off Gears. Why he did so is unknown, but it gave humans the winning chance which would soon lead them to victory. these weapons were dubbed the Outrage. Soon, the fighting force called the Sacred Order Of Holy Knights, was born. Under the command of brilliant young prodigy Ky Kiske and his mentor Kliff Undersn, humans began to turn the tide against the powerful Gears. The final battle was a mighty duel between Sir Kiske and Justice. Justice was slain in an abandon area called the Stairway To The Heavens. Although at first reborn from humans to Gears without their own free will anymore, with Justice's death, Gears regained the free will they once had as human the world over. Perhaps it had been her parting gift to her race?  
  
Realizing this, Ky Kiske showed a sypathetic side to the Gears and fought hard politically to help Gears gain what social rights they could and get them in a society that mostly rejected them. Although hard pressed, many human reluctantly agreed to allow Gears their own free rights and built a new nation where Gears could live safely with other Gears. The nation was known as Zepp. Because of the hatred Gears received from humans, Zepp is the only safe haven from the outside world, where other nations have their own controlled set of rules which would usually hinder a Gear's full rights otherwise. Except for all this, it would seem that both Man and Gear were finally beginning to walk the road of peace. And so begins a story of a Gear and his daughter...  
  
------  
  
[The Main Story (About time, huh?)]  
  
Zeppian Airport  
  
Nervousness was all he could feel.  
  
'And why the fuck not? You'll be meeting your own god damn daughter for the first time...the two of us have only conversed over letters sent back and forth...shit, I don't even know what the fuck she looks like...'  
  
His name was Sol Badguy. A Gear. His reason for visiting the only place where Gears made the majority while Humans made the minority...to meet a daughter he had sworn to his wife he would look after upon her death in the Crusades. What did he get instead? A long prison time considering he was also one of the main figure heads in the war. Humans had to blame some Gear, and if it couldn't be Justice because she was dead, they decided to turn to the next best thing: her husband, although he wasn't considered that to her at the time. He spent the last thirty or so years in a high security prison on Japan after the war. That was hardly anything to him but an annoying pain in the ass, since Gears could out live a Human by as much as two hundred fifty years and he was proof of that. That's what being the Proto-type Gear is all about: he is the first and therefore the oldest Gear in existence.  
  
"So this is Zepp...looks like a fucking garbage dump...heh, my kind of place."  
  
Sol muttered lowly. He was an exceptionally tall and heavily muscle bound man. His hair was jet black in color and spiked out every which way. The long tail of hair was securely held at the back of his head by a ring than connected to thick leather straps which held a large crimson colored piece of metal to his fore head where the words -ROCK YOU- were carved into. He wore a thick a-shirt of an almost same crimson color as his head piece, which was tucked into black form fitting jeans. Sol also had two leather straps on his upper left arm, two leather straps on his left leg, and a leather choker strap adorning his neck. His appearance screamed that he was a fan of heavy metal rock music.  
  
'Fuck...the least she could have done was send me a picture in that last letter...fuck again, maybe I should have put a picture in one of my letters so she would know what I look like...'  
  
Sol thought as he set his bi-colored eyes in motion across the many people milling about the Airport. One of the most interesting things out of any of his physical features was his eyes: the left was a golden ember color while the right was a dark crimson color.   
  
'Okay so she said she had blue hair...what a pain in the ass, almost half this crowd has blue hair...'  
  
Sol thought in annoyance. He adjusted the only two things in his possession: a large black guitar case that held a custom guitar that he made was held across his right shoulder and a small black duffel bag that carried what few possessions he did own, which was mostly a large amount of world dollars, in his left hand. Sol liked to keep his money where he could see it.  
  
'Well, waiting here like a stupid idiot ain't getting me no where so I guess I'm asking then...'  
  
Sol began walking towards the closest blue haired female he could see, his red shoes barely making a sound on the tiled ground. She was talking with some other woman, Sol could tell she was a Gear because he could sense it, now he just had to hope she was the right one. He tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention.  
  
"You wouldn't happen to be Dizzy Badguy, would you?"  
  
Sol said simply. The girl didn't respond immediately as she gave him a look over. Judging by the hungry look in her golden eyes, she wanted him sexually, and that was his first indication she wasn't his daughter.  
  
"I am now."  
  
She said, going into a softer, more sultry sounding voice. Sol smirked.  
  
"Then that'd make you my daughter, huh?"  
  
Sol said, his smirk widening at the girl's shocked reaction.  
  
"Whoa...you must be Sol Badguy...if your looking for Dizzy, she should be outside in the parking lot waiting for you. If your ever lonely, why not give me a call?"  
  
The girl informed him. She wrote something on a piece of paper and handed it to him. Sol already knew without looking at it that it was probably the girl's number. He was handsome in a rugged sort of way which most females, whether Human or Gear, would usually find attractive, hence he tended to get a lot of attention from them. He stuffed the paper in his back pocket.  
  
"Don't expect me too, lady. You never know, thought..."  
  
Sol said while walking away.   
  
"Wow. I didn't know Dizzy's old man was that hot. I might just have to rape him."  
  
Sol heard the girl say with his incredible sense of hearing. He scowled.  
  
'Better watch out for that bitch.'  
  
Sol thought as he walked out of the airport and into the parking lot.  
  
'Okay...looking for blue hair...blue hair...'  
  
Sol thought to himself as he scanned the old cars. He felt someone tap his shoulder and turned to see who it was. The girl he saw was rather short and wore a simple long black dress around her figure. Her long blue hair was tied into pigtails by yellow ribbons. She stared up at him intently with crimson eyes.  
  
"Um...excuse me but...you wouldn't happen to be Sol Badguy, would you?"  
  
The girl spoke in a soft timid voice. She sounded very vulnerable. Sol wasn't fooled. She was in very good physical health from what he could see of her body through her dress. Plus her Gear powers were very high, from what Sol could sense out.  
  
"Dizzy...?"  
  
He began. The girl's timid expression turned into one gigantic smile as she jumped up and hugged him.  
  
"I'm so glad I get to meet you for the first time physically, dad."  
  
She said happily,although it sounded a bit forced.Deciding not to dwindle on the feeling, Sol simply patted her back.  
  
"Yeah...I am too, I guess..."  
  
Sol said lowly. This was something he'd have to get used to. Luckily he was accepted by his own child with a hug rather than a punch to the face for being gone for so long, even if not by his own circumstances.  
  
"Man, you see your daughter for the first time and you simply guess your glad to see her?"  
  
A new voice said from behind them. Sol looked to the source of the new voice to find a young girl dressed an orange leather trench coat and pants. She also had a large hat with a ridiculously long visor all around and some orange sun glasses over her eyes. Save for an orange bikini top, she was otherwise topless. Sol's eyes just hurt watching her. He could tell she was a loud, eccentric person, and Sol didn't like those kind of people very much.  
  
"Now, now May. Father and daughter reunions are not always so dramatic and heart felt like in all those romance novels you read."  
  
Said a tall man dressed exactly like May was except in all black. His topless chest was well muscled and Sol had a feeling he was a pretty good fighter.  
  
"Oh. Mr. Johnny and May. I'd forgotten you were there for a moment. Dad, these were my guardians while you were away."  
  
Dizzy said as she introduced them. Johnny held out a hand. Sol took it.  
  
"Names Johnny. If I may say, your hands are quite callous."  
  
Johnny told his as they shook hands. Sol smirked.  
  
"Hey I'm just a guitar player, a guitar maker, and a guitar fixer. Nothing special."  
  
Sol informed him. Johnny shook his head.  
  
"I don't know...these calluses feel like swords play if you want my opinion."  
  
Johnny said. Sol smirked at this.  
  
"Kind of like your calluses then?"  
  
Sol interjected. Johnny nodded his head.  
  
"Yep. Your much sharper then you look."  
  
That remark made Sol's eye twitch.  
  
"And what the fuck is that suppose to mean, punk?"  
  
Sol said lowly. May came closer.  
  
"Easy big guy, he lets stupid things slip from his mouth from time to time."  
  
May stated, hoping Sol wouldn't hurt Johnny because he looked more that capable to. Johnny apologized for his earlier remark.  
  
"Sorry, I guess I was out of line. You didn't seem like the responsible or serious type but I guess I was wrong. Hey Dizzy, should we get going?"  
  
Johnny then turned to Dizzy. The young woman nodded simply, and Sol followed the three to a rather large jeep with an even larger man.  
  
"Hey, Potemkin, we got her father with us. Let's head on back to my place."  
  
Johnny said. The hulking giant Potemkin nodded and got into the driver's side, which was of course custom made so Potemkin could drive the jeep safely. Once they were out on the street Dizzy decided to strike up a conversation with Sol, seeing as they had a lot of catching up to do.  
  
"So dad, what was mom like?"  
  
She began. Sol turned to her.  
  
"Let me rest a bit. Its a good fourteen hour flight from Japan to Zepp and I couldn't sleep through any of the flight. I curse my sensitive hearing."  
  
Sol told her as he yawned loudly. He tried not to swear so much because he could tell it would make Dizzy cringe. The way he wrote letters back to her had probably led her to believe Sol was a very well educated Gear, which he was, but probably not with the heavy metal rock nature. He had a feeling that she had built up an image of him in her mind over the thirty years he'd been in prison and his physical appearance now was probably a far cry from the one she had wanted to meet. Yet she still greeted him with kindness, as hard as it probably had been. Now that he thought more on it, Sol could tell that deep down she was disappointed in his appearance and the way he acted. He could feel that disappointment more clearly from her now than back at the Airport.  
  
'If the bitch can't even accept her own father then what's the reason for leaving that prison in the first place?'  
  
This was the side of the Gear who wanted acceptance right here and now.  
  
'She simply needs to get to know me better before she can truly see what kind of person I am.'  
  
His more human side rationed. He put a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Your disappointed in me."  
  
Sol stated simply. Dizzy's eyes widened in surprise as she turned to look at him.  
  
"It's not that..."  
  
Dizzy was cut off by Sol however.  
  
"Lying ain't getting you nowhere. Look, telling you about your mother is a personal thing, okay? Don't you want to know about her in private, without others disrupting the conversation, like certain people to my right?"  
  
Sol said while looking pointedly at May and Johnny who were leaning closer to hear what he was saying. A little embarrassed at getting caught eavesdropping, the two went to sitting back normally.   
  
"Your right...I'm sorry if I'm being bitchy about it but as you know, I've never met her and I'll never get the chance to. I should have seen things from your side. It is a personal matter that should be discussed in private without certain people to your right disrupting it."  
  
Now it was Dizzy's turn to give that same stare that Sol gave to May and Johnny, who had once again leaned closer to listen in on her. Caught a second time, they decided it was best to leave father and daughter alone. Sol smirked. She was his child after all and he saw her in a whole new light just then.  
  
------  
  
Johnny's  
  
"You turned a fucking airship into a night club?"  
  
Sol said in disbelief. The airship model was one that Humans used to battle Gears as far as Sol could tell. It was clearly unusable, as the engine had been removed, as well as the thrusters.  
  
"Hey, it belonged to my dad in the war. It was going to be taken away from me if I didn't do something with it."  
  
Johnny interjected. Sol turned to Dizzy.  
  
"You work here then?"  
  
He asked her. Dizzy simply nodded.  
  
"I'll show you to your room, dad."  
  
She told him.  
  
"You all live here, too?"  
  
Sol got the confirmation from all of them.  
  
'Shit...I knew I should have asked what she did for a living. Oh well...'  
  
He was actually kind of relieved that Dizzy was not so innocent appearing as she first seemed.The inside of the airship wasn't to bad for Sol, but...  
  
"I take it you have a female manager?"  
  
Sol said as he looked at the place. It just seemed to eke out a feminine touch to it. Johnny, however shook his head.  
  
"Actually I'm the manager. Considering me and the bouncer, Potemkin here are the only males, while there's about thirty women living in this place...well you get the picture."  
  
Johnny said.   
  
"Shit...that's a lot of femininity. Let me guess...the masculine mostly come at night, huh?"  
  
Sol asked. Johnny nodded.  
  
"Bingo."  
  
He stated. Sol sighed.  
  
'Damn...well I guess it will be a nice change from the all male prison but still...I just know I'm going to fucking regret this in some form or another...'  
  
As his thoughts ended he soon found himself face to face with the rest of the female crew. The sleepy looking eyes and the slightly messed up hair indicated to Sol that they had just gotten up. The sleepy gaze left as they began to stare intently at him.   
  
'Fuck...I hate being the center of attention...yet I always tend to find myself as that center.'  
  
He thought.  
  
"Hey Johnny, who is this guy? A present for us?"  
  
The girls asked. Johnny shook his head.  
  
"Sorry ladies, can't have him for that. Meet Dizzy's father, Sol Badguy."  
  
A lot of ohs and ahs were heard for that. Sol could tell they were undressing him with their eyes.  
  
'And they say men are the more perverted then women...whoever said that fucking bullshit needs to get his or her ass roasted...I'd say the perversion's equal right now.'  
  
Sol thought.   
  
"Damn, Dizzy's dad..."  
  
"Look at those muscles..."  
  
"Wonder if he's seeing someone..."  
  
The girls began to converse amongst themselves. Sol looked towards Dizzy.  
  
"Hey, show me to my room already."  
  
Sol decided it was time to leave this room before things started getting physical.  
  
"Alright, dad. Follow me."  
  
Sol did as he was told. He could still feel the eyes boring into his back. His hearing could pick up some of what they were saying even though he couldn't see them.  
  
"Why does Dizzy get the best looking men..."  
  
"Idiot, that's her dad, their not like that..."  
  
"Come on, you never heard of incest..."  
  
"Well, now that you put it that way..."  
  
Were amongst some of the things Sol heard. He had to admit a lot of the comments they said were pretty disgusting to say the least. He let out a sigh of relief when he got into his room, but his relief was not to last.  
  
"Holy shit this room is fucking pink!"  
  
Sol said as he stared wide eyed. The color made his eyes hurt.  
  
"Sorry dad...can I ask you about mom now?"  
  
Dizzy asked after apologizing. Sol shrugged.  
  
"Yeah I'll tell you about her but first, you and me are going to go shopping for the appropriate room supplies. I ain't setting foot into this room a second time until it gets a male's touch, and that's final."  
  
Sol spoke in a serious voice. He looked about before grabbing the entire pink bed, frame, mattresses and all, and carried it out overhead.   
  
"Dizzy, carry that dresser."  
  
He ordered her. Dizzy complied. When they got into the main room of the airship, Johnny and the others looked at the two from their breakfasts.  
  
"Uh, Sol, what are you doing?"  
  
Johnny inquired. Sol looked at him as if he was stupid.  
  
"What the fuck do you think I'm doing? I'm just removing this big ass pink bed from my room because I don't want it there."  
  
Sol told him easily. With his immense strength as a Gear the process was made very easy, but Johnny seemed to forget that. He then turned to Dizzy.  
  
"You too?"  
  
He asked her. Dizzy nodded.  
  
"Father's orders."  
  
She said. Sol nudged the door open with the bed before he came outside. He then swiftly threw the bed roughly on the ground, breaking most of the frame in the process.  
  
"Give me the dresser."  
  
Sol stated. Dizzy complied again and gave it to him. He threw the giant piece of furniture over his head, letting it crush the bed. Sol then grabbed a packet of matches from his back pocket. He lit one effortlessly and tossed it behind him, letting the bed and dresser catch on fire.  
  
"Hey Johnny..."  
  
Sol began as he took out a pack of cigarettes and putting one in his mouth. He lit another match and brought it to the tip of the cigarette. After exhaling some smoke from his mouth and nostrils he looked up to Johnny.  
  
"...where's the closest furniture store?"  
  
...To Be Continued...  
  
Note 2: Has anyone ever seen that movie called Wasabi? It's the main reason I dreamt and came up with this idea. It's a good movie to watch if your in it for the laughs, although if you don't like english dubbed films, then I recommend you don't watch it. Anyway, review if you want to. 


	2. A Time To Reflect On One's Life

Chapter 2  
  
Written By Illuminet  
  
Disclaimer: Refer to the first chapter to see it for yourself. Trust me, it's there.  
  
Note: Just a small note here. From now on it's best to read the prefaces for each chapter concerning the previous chapter because it will most likely provide better backstory for characters and their lifestyles and other tidbits of information not shown in the previous chapter either.  
  
"..."-Indicate Speech  
  
'...'-Indicate Thought / Telepathy  
  
------  
  
[Preface (This time it's best to read through it. Don't worry though, it ain't too long.)]  
  
Sol Badguy...  
  
Unlike most of the Gears who come to Zepp, Sol has not come here to be with fellow Gears and be treated as a full equal. He has been released from prison to meet with his daughter, Dizzy Badguy. It originally had not been possible to get released from prison serving only thirty years as Sol did, because his original sentence was made to be a one hundred years of serving time in jail. During twenty two years of staying in prison, Sol was graced with his first letter ever by Dizzy, who claimed she had done researched and found that Sol was the father she had been searching for. After that, they passed letters to each other for the next eight years, getting to know a decent amount about the other. When news of these transactions of letters between father and daughter came to the attention of renowned war hero Ky Kiske, he was able to have Sol freed at his thirty years of imprisonment. Of course Sol was not let out on a whim, and he would have to be checked in by Ky himself regularly.  
  
Many Humans had mixed reactions to the release of Sol Badguy. Since he was the Proto-type Gear, many Humans who resented the Gears thought it a very unwise move on Ky's part. In truth, the only real reason Ky actually did this for Sol was because he could sympathize with Dizzy's plight, even though he never really met the woman himself. He himself knew what it was like to grow up with out a true parent to be by a child's side. Even with the act of kindness Ky extended to Sol, Sol seemed uncomfortable with the Knight. It could be speculated considering Ky was the one to kill Justice Badguy, but this is simply theory.  
  
Anyway, Sol was released and headed straight for Zepp, feeling a great discomfort of having to see his child for the first time. Sol ignored the discomfort in favor of remembering the promise he gave to Justice at the end of the Crusades. And so he made his way to Zepp, to fulfill his wife's dying wish...  
  
------  
  
[Main Story (See, what did I tell you about the Preface?)]  
  
The Zeppian Mall  
  
"Thanks for the ride, Potemkin. I'll call you when were ready."  
  
Dizzy informed the giant. Potemkin gave only a small nod before speeding off in his jeep. Dizzy turned to look at Sol, who was looking at his wallet.  
  
"You sure you have enough world dollars, dad?"  
  
Dizzy asked him. Sol nodded.  
  
"Don't worry about it. I got it from my secret stash."  
  
Sol told her, referring to his duffel bag that was left at Johnny's. the two made their way into the mall.  
  
'This place is pretty fucking huge. I should be able to find all sorts of shit to work with here and get that room back at Johnny's place in proper condition for my stay.'  
  
Sol thought as he looked about.  
  
"Hey Dizzy, lets split up. You go find some kind of bed and dresser. Make sure the color is either dark red or black."  
  
Sol told her. Dizzy looked towards him.  
  
"What are you going to do?"  
  
She asked him.  
  
"I got to buy some tools. Especially something to scrape off the fucking paint job on the walls and ceiling, or maybe just paints to cover the mess or something. I guess we'll meet in an hour back at this location."  
  
Sol told her, giving her a sizable wad of money before he walked away. The two began to find the necessary things they would need for Sol's room. It was easy for Dizzy to find the things she needed to get Sol, but Sol's was a different matter.  
  
"What a fucking idiot. He better hope these tools will work the wonders he mentioned or I'll cram them all up his ass."  
  
Sol muttered. Because Zepp was mostly consisting of a bunch of junk, tools were not very cared for when pawned to the store to sell. Sol walked out of the tool shop, the timer in his brain alerting him that an hour was almost up. Sol would have made his way towards the entrance, until he caught a very catchy rock beat coming somewhere within the store. Following his ears, Sol made his way further from the entrance to the music. He soon caught sight of a very small crowd of Humans and Gears watching two people performing for spare change. The man dancing very well to the music by a tin can with some coins and dollars in it was wearing some traditional Japanese dancing clothing of a blue material. Small glasses fitted on his nose and his spiky brown hair was tied by some bandages of course cloth. The other person sitting against the wall had spiked out white hair and was dressed in all black. He wore a fishnet shirt and black baggy pants. around his neck was a leather choker strap similar to the one Sol himself had. He was the one who was playing the song on a white guitar, which although it looked like it was made from spare junk parts, still made good sounding music. The music stopped, however, as did the dancing person. Most of the crowd dispersed, some leaving money in the can before they left. Sol took this time to go talk to them.  
  
"That's a fucking awesome blend of traditional Japanese music combined with heavy metal rock tune you just pulled off."  
  
Sol said, surprising the two. The man with white hair smiled.  
  
"Heh, you like that did you? You even knew I was combining the two types of music. Pretty impressive, man."  
  
He said to Sol. Sol came up to the tin can and placed a dollar in it.  
  
"Thanks a lot. We've been having trouble making ends meet, thanks to a certain gambleholic around here."  
  
The man who had danced said, giving a pointed stare at the white haired man.  
  
"That's ex gambleholic thank you very much, Anji."  
  
The white haired man said. Anji shook his head.  
  
"Yeah, until you get your hands on some of sis's money, Chipp."  
  
Anji told him. Chipp flipped him off.  
  
"Aw bite me, asshole."  
  
Chipp said.  
  
"So was it you who made that guitar?"  
  
Sol asked Chipp. The two men stopped arguing so Chipp could answer Sol's question.  
  
"Nope. This is the work of famed Zeppian guitar maker, Baiken."  
  
Chipp said. Sol looked confused.  
  
"Baiken? The sword wielding Samurai chick from the Crusades? She's a guitar maker now? Your fucking bullshitting me."  
  
Sol insisted, but Chipp shook his head.  
  
"Nope. That Samurai chick as you call her went from making and wielding swords to making and wielding guitars. You didn't know?"  
  
Chipp asked. Sol shook his head.  
  
"Shit, that's unexpected. Still can't really blame me since prisoners doesn't really get news of the outside world."  
  
Sol said. Anji eyed Sol peticularly before his eyes widened in recognition.  
  
"Wait a minute. Aren't you Sol Badguy, the Proto-type Gear? You were released from prison weren't you? Not too long ago if I remember correctly."  
  
Anji stated. Sol nodded.  
  
"Well, you found me out...oh shit, I should get going, someone's waiting for me at the entrance. You guys come here often?"  
  
Sol questioned them. Anji nodded.  
  
"Yeah. We'll probably be performing here a while to pay off sis."  
  
Anji told him. Sol nodded.  
  
"Good. When I get some free time, why don't you introduce me to Baiken one of these days?"  
  
Sol asked. Chipp nodded.  
  
"Sure, why not? See you later man."  
  
After Chipp said those words, Sol was off to the entrance to meet with Dizzy. When he got there, however, he found no Dizzy.  
  
'Shit, I wonder if she went looking for me after I came back here. I'm about ten minutes late. Guess I'll just search her out with my Gear senses.'  
  
Sol thought to himself as he closed his eyes to trace a signal from Dizzy.  
  
'There.'  
  
Sol thought and went off to find his daughter. He found her a while later, outside a store that sold beds, talking with a Gear in all black. The Gear's clothing gave Sol all the information he needed to know that he was a goth. His skin was pale, even paler than Dizzy's. His hair was jet black, similar to Sol's hair color, and was extremely long, that had it grown out about one more foot, it would probably hit the ground. His sleeveless black shirt hung loosely on his lanky frame, and was tied up by long, black leather belts. His black strapped boots were very high, going past his knee and covered most of his black pants. Sol made his way to the two. Dizzy had just laughed at some comment the other Gear made when her eyes went to Sol's.  
  
"Oh, dad, there you are. Sorry I lost track of time, but I met my boyfriend here and well..."  
  
She began, but left it unfinished. Sol came face to face with the Gear, noticing a large black Raven on his right shoulder with a steel collar around its neck.  
  
"Oh...? It's been a while, Gear #138, Testament."  
  
Sol said in a monotone voice, recognizing him. Testament mirrored his tone of voice.  
  
"So it has, Gear#000, Proto-type."  
  
Testament said. Many of the new generation of Gears had no creation number of their own, since the Gear population was no longer a securely controlled one as it had been in the time before and during the Crusades.  
  
"Actually, it's Sol now. How about you? Still go by the name Testament?"  
  
Sol asked. Testament simply nodded. Dizzy looked between the two.  
  
"You two know each other?"  
  
She asked. Testament nodded.  
  
"Allies in the Crusades."  
  
He said simply. Sol nodded.  
  
"Yeah. That was a fucking long time ago."  
  
Sol said. Testament turned to Dizzy.  
  
"I'll see you tonight."  
  
Was all he said, then he and Dizzy shared a quick kiss on the lips before he walked away.  
  
'It's good to see you again, my friend of war.'  
  
Sol heard Testament say to him in his mind.   
  
'You too. Look, I don't mind you two going out with each other, but as the saying goes I think: You break her heart and I'll break every fucking bone in your body.'  
  
Sol told him. He heard a mental chuckle from Testament.  
  
'Understood. But if I did end up breaking her heart, I'd break all my bones myself.'  
  
Was all he said as he got too far for the mental link to keep working. Sol turned to Dizzy.  
  
"So, did you get the bed?"  
  
He asked her. Dizzy nodded.  
  
"Yep. Speed delivery for both the new bed and dresser. They should already be in your room once we head back. Should I call Potemkin to come pick us up?"  
  
She asked him. Sol nodded.  
  
"Yeah, go ahead."  
  
He said.  
  
------  
  
Johnny's  
  
Sol had spent the better part of the day scraping off the pink paint job on his walls, and then began painting it red. His bed and dresser were left in the middle of the room as he let the paint dry. During this time, Sol took the time to fine tune his custom guitar and play a few music pieces from his favorite rock music.  
  
'Shit...Now that I'm on Zepp, I got to find a job. Better check for any job offerings tomorrow. I may be rich, but that doesn't mean I should just rely on that money.'  
  
He heard Dizzy come into his room, probably to ask him something before she went to work.  
  
"Dad? I know we really didn't get the time today, and I have to work tonight so I won't be seeing you for the rest of the night, but can you really tell me about mom maybe in the morning?"  
  
She asked him. Sol sighed. She really wanted to know a lot about Justice. He really couldn't blame her though, and there was no doubt in Sol's mind that no Human or Gear on Zepp had ever really met with Justice during the Crusades personally to be able to tell her anything about the leading figure of the Gears. So Sol didn't let the question bother him.  
  
"Yeah, tomorrow's fine. We'll meet here."  
  
He told her. Dizzy smiled.  
  
"Thanks a lot dad. I'll see you tomorrow then."  
  
She said before walking out of the room. Sol nodded. He had been getting bored and the smell of paint was starting to give him a headache. Sol decided a stroll around town was in order. Putting his guitar back in it's case, Sol made his way to the back door of the former airship.  
  
------  
  
Construction Skyscraper  
  
Sol looked out at the light filled Zepp City. The night air was chilly, but being a Gear, Sol paid it no mind. He had chugged his twenty fourth bottle of beer from the four six packs he bought at a drug store. Sol felt a slight buzz, but otherwise was still sober. It took a lot of alcohol to bring him down. Seeing Zepp City from so high up gave Sol a feeling of peace. Sol also reminisced about the past.  
  
:::Flashback:::  
  
The Crusades...  
  
He was ready for battle. His red and black Gear armor made him taller than he actually was with it's stiletto like feet. He could manipulate the armor to form many stabbing and slashing weapons from his body. His black hair was the only thing that came out of the helmet. This armor was almost exactly like the white and blue armor Justice herself wore, but it still had it's differences. One was the helmet visor, while Justice's was almost triangularly spiked, his was smoothed out. His massive shoulder pads were also larger and had small spikes running along the top of the shoulders while Justice did not. On his left elbow was a very long thin curved blade, as was there another long blade on his right knee. His tail appendage was long and flexible, small spikes protruded randomly on some of the linked segments of it. Although his appearance showed him to be much more fearsome seeming then Justice, he was only the second in command.  
  
"This is the last line of defense. We must hold it with our very lives. Justice is counting on us."  
  
He said. The armor made his voice come out slightly dead pan and mechanical. A roar of cheering came from the Gears he was leading, all in their own armors. The Human army was already coming in view. Leader of the Human army dressed in the clothing of a Holy Knight. In his hand was a short rectangular blade. It was a weapon of the Outrage, named Fire Seal. The two units of combatants had a stare off at first, but with the raising of the Fire Seal, the Holy Knight initiated the attack. The Gear leader of his unit also rose his black clawed hand as a sign to battle, and complete chaos ensued. While many a Gear and Human fought each other, the two leaders were the most impressive of all. As it's namesake, the Fire Seal produced powerful flame magic under the command of the Holy Knight using it. But The Gear leader himself conjured up powerful weapons to thwart any of the attacks thrown at him. The two remained locked in a stand still.  
  
"Gun Flame!"  
  
The Knight shouted as he drove his blade into the ground to conjure a small wave of flames heading in the Gear leader's direction. The Gear leader simply back flipped, his tail created a small trail of fire to match with the ground projectile heading his way to cancel it out. The Knight charged at the Gear leader, but was knocked aside as the Gear leader manipulated his right arm into a large double bladed sword the cut with intense ferocity. the Knight blocked and then jumped high into the air to strike at the Gear leaders's head.  
  
"Volcanic Viper!"  
  
The Fire Seal engulfed into flames. The Gear leader brought his left elbow forward, letting his elbow blade guard the attack. The Gear leader countered the attack with a front flip towards the still airborne Knight, catching the Knight in with his right foot, which turned into a talon like weapon. He drove the Knight into the ground, keeping a firm grip around his neck.  
  
"Not bad, but it won't be enough."  
  
The Gear leader said. The Knight looked like he was ready to accept death but it never came. a Human's voice sounded in the Gear leader's ear, one that made his blood run cold.  
  
"Justice has fallen at the Stairway to the Heavens! The Humans have won!"  
  
Without a second thought, he released the Knight to speed off towards the location of Justice.  
  
------  
  
Stairway to the Heavens  
  
It was raining. His armor began to manipulate so it almost looked identical to Justice's. He came on the scene. A Holy Knight with a long, thin broadsword Outrage called the Thunder Seal stood over the body. Even though he won, Justice had given him hell during their battle, and he looked ready to collapse at any moment. He turned his head to regard the Gear clad in red armor before him.  
  
"You are...!"  
  
The young Knight recognized him as the second in command. The Gear made his way to where Justice was.  
  
"Stay back."  
  
The Knight warned, but the Gear refused. He shoved the Knight out of the way to see Justice. He knelt down and picked her up.  
  
"Breathing is minimal but still intact."  
  
He confirmed giving her battered body a quick scan over. After that he removed his helmet. The Outrage prevented any wound from healing through regeneration like many Gears had, and it was the reason Justice was dying in his arm now.  
  
"Come on. Wake up."  
  
He ordered of her gently. To his relief, her golden eyes opened. She removed her helmet, letting it fall to the floor with a faint metallic clang.  
  
"I...I'm so sorry...Freddie...I couldn't stay alive."  
  
She said in a hushed whisper. He shook his head.  
  
"Hey, don't say that. You'll pull through this."  
  
He told her. It was a lie and she knew it, however.  
  
"There's no...need to...hide the...truth. The Humans...are simply blessed with much better fighting prowess...than us mere Gears..."  
  
She said softly. He could feel an annoying sting of tears in his eyes but he refused to let them fall. She grasped the back of his head and brought it closer to hers.  
  
"Promise me...find HIM and make him pay...and find our daughter...she is still out there...lost in the world...take care of her Freddie, please..."  
  
She told him. He nodded slowly, his eyes showing resolve.  
  
"I promise...sleep well."  
  
He told her, reassuring her fears. Justice gave him one more smile and they shared a final kiss. Her body went limp soon afterwards.  
  
:::Flashback:::  
  
'What would it have been like...if you had survived?'  
  
Sol wondered, taking his final swig of beer before tossing it into the box it came it. He lit a cigarette and continued to think back on the past.  
  
:::Flashback:::  
  
Jail Cell...  
  
"Sol Badguy, the Proto-type Gear. It's time."  
  
He looked up at the guard ho had opened his cell. Sol Badguy was his true name now, but it had not always been that way. As a Human he had been born as Frederick Sol Mercury II. His first name came from his mother's maiden name, which was also his middle name now. As for his last name, it was also one that came from his past as a Human. Before she was a Gear, Justice was named Justine Aurora Badguy. She was also Frederick II's fiancee. It was her family name he now took as his own. Sol stared at the guard and got up from his bunk wordlessly.  
  
'Why do I have to stand trial? What's the fucking god damn point when all I'm going to be found is guilty anyway? What a load of bullshit!'  
  
He thought to himself. He had been right too. Once his trial came to an end, he had been found guilty for being Justice's second in command and for killing so many humans in the war. And now he would be shipped off to Japan, the nation with the strongest and greatest prison to hold Gears in. Even when he got there many problems risen for him. The biggest one being that he beat the living crap out of anyone who tried to remove his head piece. It was his visor fused together with Justice's visor as a reminder to him and so, it had a lot of value to him, regardless if it looked like just a random piece of crimson colored metal strapped to his fore head. It was finally decided after many failed attempts by the guards the Sol could keep the metal piece on him.   
  
:::Flashback:::  
  
'That MAN...I'll make you pay for what you did to the both of us. I don't give a shit if you were once my biological father as a Human. I'm a Gear now. And once I find you...'  
  
Sol didn't even think fully on it, unless his anger and rage got the best of him. He struck the side of the metal column he was sitting by, leaving a sizable dent in it. Sol kept his anger and power in control. The last thing he wanted was to have trouble with the law for destroying the entire structure and making it collapse upon itself.  
  
"You know smoking can be very hazardous to your health and the health of others around you."  
  
A squeaky voice said. Sol looked around until he saw an extremely tall, lanky person hovering in the air like Mary Poppins with an umbrella. The man also had a paper bag over his head. Sol eyed him curiously.  
  
'Okay...maybe I'm more fucking sloshed than I originally thought...'  
  
Sol thought to himself. The tall man landed near the other side of the pole Sol was sitting on and closed his umbrella. Although Sol's Gear senses were a bit out of tune thanks to the beer, he was able to get the height of the man at an impressive nine feet and three inches or so.  
  
"Shit, your pretty fucking tall. Basket Ball player?"  
  
Sol inquired, but the man shook his head.  
  
"Nope, I'm an aspiring doctor at the Zepp clinic. Anyway, as I was saying..."  
  
The supposed doctor began but was interrupted by Sol.  
  
"Hey I know, but I'm a Gear. Smoking doesn't do anything to me like it does for Humans, so just shut up."  
  
Sol told him. As a Human, he was a doctor as well for a long time until he met with his fiancee. That was pretty much ancient history of course.  
  
"So anyway, got a name, or should I just call you doctor-who-rides-an-umbrella?"  
  
Sol asked.  
  
"Doctor Faust Baldhead at your service. You can call me Faust, though. Could I interest you in buying an alcoholic beverage from me?"  
  
He asked after introducing himself with a dramatic bow of his body.  
  
"I guess so. Now tell me something...what's with the paper bag on your head?"  
  
Sol had to know. Faust looked deep in thought.  
  
"Well..."  
  
He put down his umbrella and took his leather briefcase and opened it. Form within he produced a large flashlight the size of a human head. He turned it on and then removed his paper bag, shinning the flashlight on the back of his bald head. Sol had to put up a hand to cover his eyes.  
  
"Damn, turn that flashlight off before your shiny head blinds someone."  
  
Sol told him. Faust obliged and put his paper bag back on and turning the flashlight off. He then took a six pack of beer cans from his briefcase and took a can out of the plastic ring before tossing it to Sol, who caught the can in one hand.  
  
"Alright, fifty world dollars."  
  
Faust said. Sol narrowed his eyes.  
  
"Alright, how about twenty five?"  
  
Faust said again. Sol's eyes narrowed further.  
  
"Fine, five then."  
  
He said. Sol's eyes were like slits now.  
  
"Geez, okay, one dollar."  
  
Faust told him. Sol smirked.  
  
"Now that's more like it."  
  
...To Be Continued...  
  
Note 2: Hey, I was able to get this chapter up faster than I thought I would be able to. It's still mostly random, with some of the cast from the game making an appearance. Oh well. Until next time. 


	3. The Pieces Begin To Fall Into Place

Chapter 3  
  
Written By Illuminet  
  
Disclaimer: Refer to the first chapter to view. Other than that, proceed.  
  
Note: Not much to say here, just giving credit to a friend of mine who offered to help me by typing up a good chunk of this chapter. What she did in about an entire week would have taken me a month to type up. So it is because of my friend this chapter was posted quickly. Is that cool or what?  
  
"..."-Indicate Speech  
  
'...'-Indicate Thought / Telepathy  
  
------  
  
[Preface]  
  
Dizzy Badguy...  
  
Her Gear powers are incredibly substantial regardless of her rather young age in Gear terms. Perhaps what is even more significant than her powers is that she is the child of the Proto-type Gear, #000 (Sol Badguy), and the first complete Gear, #001 (Justice Badguy). Although Dizzy was conceived after her parents regained full self awareness, she was also the result of a well hidden test conducted by the creator of the Gears himself, behind the backs of her parents. This test was to confirm if Gears could reproduce their own kind bisexually, like they could when they were still Human.  
  
Positive. Dizzy was the first confirmation that Gears could reproduce other Gears. Dizzy is also the first Gear to ever start as a child and grow into adulthood. There are only two true side effects of Gear births. First is that the child Gear will grow rapidly into adulthood, estimated at around four times the average Human growth into adulthood. Second, the child will usually grow with a type of mutation. In Dizzy's case, she had two wings and a tail which she can will to become small enough where they don't show any physical change to her. This was all confirmed by the creator of the Gears.  
  
When Dizzy was still just a baby near the beginning of the Crusades, she was taken from her parents by the creator and then abandoned near the end of the Crusades. It was also around this time she had been discovered and brought in by the man called Johnny. Why the creator took her, only to abandon her is currently unknown, but he has many dark designs in store for her and her recently found father, and they will all come within good time...  
  
------  
  
[Main Story]   
  
Zeppian Airport  
  
'I finally get a vacation...and my wife and child want to spent it here? The only real good thing that will come out of this is by checking in on Sol Badguy, although it might be a little too early for that, too...'  
  
The young man thought. Ky Kiske is a man regarded as a true hero. Both to the Humans and to the Gears. His short silvery blonde hair shimmered about his boyish face, and his turquoise blue eyes were filled with life. After coming back from ending the Crusades as a great hero to his home country of France, Ky soon traded his sword for a gun and went from Knight to Policeman. He was a tireless enforcer of justice through and through. He was not dressed as a Policeman today because he was ordered to take a very long vacation. Now he dressed as most normal people do in this day and age. He wore a simple white shirt tucked into dark blue jeans. A sapphire necklace adorned with a cross made out of gold hung around his neck.  
  
"Well dear, this is it, the nation of Zepp. It's not known for it's cleanliness but it is a rather homely place."  
  
Ky said to his beautiful wife, Jam Kiske who was formally Jam Kuradoberi, the greatest chef in all of China. She wore a traditional dark black Chinese dress. Her long, reddish brown hair was tied into a large ring and was kept secure by a large golden hair ornament on top of her head.  
  
"Wow, I bet we could find all sorts of neat things here. Aren't you glad we came, honey?"  
  
She asked him with a smile. Ky smiled and nodded back, although it didn't look very enthusiastic. He wasn't going to argue with her of course, because he figured it this way: He didn't win the argument at home, so why would this scenario by played any differently? He looked around.  
  
"Hey, where's Bridget?"  
  
Ky asked. He soon got his answer.  
  
"Right here, dad."  
  
Now truth be told, Bridget's name and features could point out that he looked like a young girl, but was actually a he. He got most of his looks from his father of course, with the blond hair and light skin color. His eyes were a dark azure color which neither his father or mother could guess how he got, because Ky's eyes were not truly blue, and Jam's eyes were a light hazel brown color. Perhaps in most cases, Bridget would be made fun of at his school for looking like a cute girl and having a girl's name, but because he was the son of the great Ky Kiske, no attempt of making fun of him was ever made. The young boy had on a black hooded sweater with blue sleeves, and blue jeans. He also had a necklace that was similar to his father's in appearance.  
  
"Why don't you two go find a hotel while I check in with someone."  
  
Ky said to the two. Bridget looked up at him.  
  
"You mean Sol Badguy right? Can we come too?"  
  
Bridget asked. Ky was going to refuse, but one look at the ultimate weapon at Bridget's disposal: The sad puppy dog eyes of doom, Ky knew he could never say no to such a face. This look was of course inherited by his mother, who if she ever rarely lost an argument of some sort to Ky, would give him the same look which he couldn't refuse. Ky sighed in defeat.  
  
"Curse my weak heartedness. Fine, let's pay Mr. Badguy a visit..."  
  
------  
  
Johnny's  
  
"That has to be the biggest load of bull shit I've ever heard...a guy possessed by a vengeful spirit that can make his head turn three hundred sixty degrees...yeah fucking right."  
  
Sol said as his head hit the pillow of his bed. He was feeling a tad woozy from all the beer drinking last night. Faust and he began off with a good start, since Faust was a doctor, and Sol himself was formally a doctor as a Human. Finally when day time came, Faust was mentioning his troubles with a patient named Zappa who's body could do things a normal Human body could not, all because of some vengeful spirit stuck inside of him. And just when Sol was beginning to think the guy wasn't totally nuts.  
  
"So you finally came home."  
  
Dizzy said. Sol opened his eyes to see Dizzy staring down at him. Sol sighed and got up.  
  
"Yeah Dizzy, want do you...no wait, your mom right?"  
  
He asked her. Dizzy nodded.  
  
"Fine, ask away then."  
  
He told her. Before she could say anything however, a knock on Sol's door interrupted her.  
  
"Hey Sol, a Policeman named Ky Kiske is here to see you. Hey if he asks, say there are no underaged girls living here, even if they really are."  
  
Johnny's voice sounded from the other side. Sol sighed.  
  
"Great...just what I fucking need."  
  
------  
  
The main room  
  
While Ky was waiting by the entrance with Jam, Bridget looked as if he might have been having a staring contest with May. What the two were actually doing were thinking about each other. Bridget's thoughts went something like...  
  
'Hey, what a cute girl...maybe I should ask her out sometime, I mean we are staying here for a couple of months, so...'  
  
As for May, her went like...  
  
'Cute...NO! Must think of Johnny, must think of Johnny...but this guy is so...No! You must not give into temptation, May...'  
  
It was at this time Sol made his entrance. He and Ky stared at one another.  
  
"So tell me, boy, why are you here? Don't you think it's a bit early to be checking in on me?"  
  
Sol asked him. Ky nodded.  
  
"Yes, it is...but the misses and the young one wanted to be here, and so..."  
  
Once Ky said that, Sol's eyes darted from Ky to Bridget, then from Jam to Bridget.  
  
"Well, I can see where he gets his physical appearance from...kind of feminine, though...more so than usual for a boy his age..."  
  
Sol said softly as he analyzed Bridget.   
  
"How about you? Where's your famous child, Sol?"  
  
Ky asked. Sol merely stepped to the side to reveal Dizzy who had been hidden behind Sol's tall frame. Ky's eyes stared at Dizzy for a long time, then went to Sol, then back to Dizzy again. He kept doing this for quite a while and Sol was getting annoyed.  
  
"Hey boy, just hurry up and say you see no fucking resemblance, ask me if she resembles her mother, to which I respond with a not really. Shit, just stop wasting my time."  
  
Sol said irritably.  
  
"Such filthy language. I have half the mind to wash your mouth out with a bar of soap."  
  
Jam responded to Sol. Sol looked at her with narrowed eyes.  
  
"Hey lady, you can just bite my ass."  
  
He told her. Jam got down right furious and looked like she was prepared to strike Sol down, but Ky was there to calm her down.  
  
"Now, now Jam, don't let him get to you. Take nice deep breaths and relax. We'll be done here soon, okay?"  
  
Ky said, comforting her. Jam did as he said and calmed down, deciding to just glare at Sol. Sol smirked, but otherwise did not do anything else.   
  
"So how's your new life here, Sol? Getting used to living here yet?"  
  
Ky asked. Sol sighed.  
  
"I've only had a day to move in, boy. Stop with the protocol of questions and ask me when I've had about a month. Fly back here then."  
  
Sol told him. Ky looked thoughtful.  
  
"It's a good thing that I'm on vacation for a while here. So I don't have to fly all the way back to France. A month wait you'll get then, Sol."  
  
Ky told him. Sol simply shrugged.  
  
"Yeah, yeah. A month. Now get out of here. Your bothering me, boy."  
  
Sol said. Before Ky could leave with Jam and Bridget, Dizzy stopped him.  
  
"Wait Mr. Kiske. I just want to thank you for having my dad released."  
  
Dizzy said to him with a slight bow of gratitude to Ky. Ky smiled and nodded.  
  
"And your welcome, Dizzy Badguy. Hopefully your influence will help Sol clean up his act."  
  
Ky said to her.  
  
"Even if it hasn't been that long since we met, I rather like the way my dad is, and I don't think I'd want it any other way."  
  
Dizzy told him.  
  
------  
  
Back in Sol's room  
  
"Okay now...where were we, before Johnny interrupted...oh yeah, the questions. I'm sure you got a lot."  
  
Sol said to her. Dizzy nodded.  
  
"Yes. One thing though since it was brought up. You said that I don't really resemble mom a whole lot, and the same goes with you. Why is that?"  
  
She asked. Sol put a hand to his chin in thought.  
  
"Hmmm...I think that may just concern you birth. Your mother had red hair and yellow eyes, but both of you do share a similar skin color. You already know what I look like and there's nothing all that similar between us. The only thing that combines us is on a whole other level."  
  
Sol said. Dizzy nodded.  
  
"You mean genetically, right?"  
  
She asked. Sol nodded.  
  
"I see...well then, what was mom's personality like?"  
  
Dizzy asked. Sol thought on this, again putting a hand to his chin.  
  
"Well, before she regained free will, she was pretty much a mindless doll. I regained my free will about half a year before she did. Once she regained it, she got the same personality she had as a Human. Her personality was a kind of reserved one. She liked to take care of things herself mostly before she even considers getting help. She was a very dutiful person as well. One wouldn't think with her amazing fighting prowess as a Gear that she would probably make a great housewife or a maid or something like that. I'm sure if she was alive today, the two of you would get along well."  
  
Sol told her.  
  
"You mentioned mom's personality being similar as a Gear just as it was when she was Human. Did you two know each other back then, too?"  
  
Dizzy asked. Sol nodded slowly.  
  
"Yeah...back when we were Humans, you mother and I were to be married...fate wasn't to kind, of course. Enough about that though. Your parents aren't Humans, their Gears."  
  
Sol said firmly.   
  
"I understand. Can you be honest with me about something, dad? I won't get angry about it, but I want to know. Why was it that I was abandoned? Johnny has been raising me for a long time...so..."  
  
Dizzy sounded like she might be on the verge of crying. Sol couldn't blame her. This was probably the all time question she wanted to ask of her parents. Sol didn't want to feel it, but anger started to fill his mind. Dizzy could sense it too.  
  
"Dad...?"  
  
Dizzy asked him. Sol lowered his head, letting the metal visor cover the visibility of his eyes.  
  
"Listen...You were taken away by a person calling himself That Man. It's only an alias, though. His real name is...Frederick Mercury. I don't know why he took you away from us, but me and your mother swore we'd get you back, but the Crusades had to come first...and Justice never made it...Only until yesterday did I believe you were still in his clutches. If I had known Johnny was the one who really had you...well, what's done is done. Let's just leave it that and hope I can keep my promise to your mother and keep watching over you, right?"  
  
He asked. Dizzy nodded.  
  
"Okay. You seem to get really angry when you mention him, so I'll drop the subject. Do you have any kind of picture of mom that I could see?"  
  
Dizzy asked him. Sol shook his head.  
  
"Sorry, Dizzy. I don't carry anything like that on me to remind me of her. The only thing I do have is this piece of metal tied to my fore head. A part of it belonged to your mother. If you were a normally created Gear like myself, I could send you a mental image of her, but that's not possible."  
  
Sol explained.  
  
"I see. I guess that's all I'll ask for now. I know a lot more what mom was like now then I ever did, even with research. Thanks dad. Maybe today we should go sightseeing. It's best you know your way around Zepp, right?"  
  
She asked. Sol nodded.  
  
"True. It's not like I got anything better to do. All I really know is where the airport, this place, the mall, and the construction site that's a bit far from here."  
  
Sol told her.   
  
"All you've really seen is a part of the Business District. Zepp is divided into four of them. The one we live in here is all a part of the Business District. The area serves as a working place for the people of Zepp, who usually live in the Residential District which is conveniently placed right by the Business District so commuting isn't all that tough. The Business District's also for entertainment. Right next to the Residential District is the Junkyard District. That's where most of the tools for hardware stores are dug up from. Finally there's the Presidential District, which is the smallest. That's where the President of Zepp, Gabriel, lives and works."  
  
Dizzy explained to Sol.   
  
"President Gabriel...that's who you said right?"  
  
Sol asked her. Something about the President's name bothered him, but what it was, Dizzy could not tell.  
  
"Yeah. Why do you ask? Is there a problem?"  
  
Dizzy asked, her eyes looking worried. Sol shook his head.  
  
"No. Just making sure that was the name you said."  
  
Sol told her. Even if it was a lie, Dizzy fell for it and let her question drop. Someone knocked on the door.  
  
"Hey Dizzy, your boyfriend's here."  
  
May said from the other side of the door. Dizzy's eyes widened in surprise.  
  
"I didn't know Testament was here. I'll be right back, dad."  
  
------  
  
Zepp Hospital  
  
"Here's the hospital of Zepp. The head doctor here has all the things and experience necessary to treat either a Human or a Gear."  
  
Dizzy explained to Sol. Testament tagged along because he was invited by Dizzy. His original intent was to surprise Dizzy and ask her out for lunch, but seeing as Dizzy wanted to spend time with Sol, Testament did not want to interfere with their plans.  
  
"Hey, I want to go inside for a bit. There's something I have to see."  
  
Sol told them as he began walking to the entrance of the hospital. Dizzy looked at him with a confused expression on her face. She turned to Testament, who simply shrugged his shoulders. The two decided to follow closely behind Sol. Sol made his way to the receptionist desk where a blonde haired Gear had just got off the phone with someone.   
  
"Hey, is there a Doctor Baldhead around here? I'd like to speak with him."   
  
Sol said to the receptionist. Her green eyes were looking up and down his upper body, or what ever she could see of him from her position behind the large desk.  
  
"Hey, is there a Doctor Baldhead here or not?"  
  
Sol inquired forcefully enough to break the woman's gaze on him.  
  
"Oh...yes there is...do you have an appointment?"  
  
She asked him. Sol shook his head.  
  
"Just tell him that a Sol Badguy is here to see him."  
  
He told her.  
  
"Oh, you decided to see me so soon? I'm touched by your kindness."  
  
Faust said from behind Sol. Sol turned around, having to look way up at the tall doctor.  
  
"Shit. Hey, lower yourself a bit, my neck's hurting from having to look up at you."  
  
Sol said to him. Faust chuckled.  
  
"Yes, that's the person I talked to last night. So then, what brings you here?"  
  
Faust asked him.  
  
"I want you to prove to me you have a patient who can do all the things you said he could do."  
  
Sol told him.  
  
"Oh? Even with all my vivid descriptiveness you still don't believe me? I'm crushed."  
  
Faust said using a hurt tone of voice. Sol sighed.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, Whatever, just give me solid proof and I won't call you a liar."  
  
Sol told him.  
  
"I have no problem showing you him, but...there is this tiny little problem."  
  
Faust admitted.   
  
"Yeah? And that is...?"  
  
Sol inquired, trying to get the answer out of the doctor.  
  
"Well you see, since his condition as of yet can not be cured...he has been cryogenically frozen for the future. Hopefully medical advances can cure his possessed spirit...or I could just call for an exorcism if I wasn't so cheap."  
  
Faust said with a laugh.  
  
"Hmmm...well, I still think your just making up a fucking excuse but I guess I'll buy into it...for now anyway. I've got other things to do today and since your probably a busy person I'll let you get on with you life of saving other people's lives. See ya, doc."  
  
Sol said, walking away. Dizzy and Testament followed after him.  
  
"Actually, the doctor's telling you the truth, dad. I once saw the person he was trying to cure. His body was really flexible and could move in many different way beyond what normal people, either Human or Gear could pull off."  
  
Dizzy told him.  
  
"Well if you say so. Where to next?"  
  
Sol asked.  
  
------  
  
Johnny's  
  
"Well, time for work again. I'm sorry I couldn't show you more, dad..."  
  
Dizzy said but was interrupted by Sol.  
  
"Hey, don't worry about. You got to make a living too. At least I know more about this place than I did yesterday."   
  
Sol admitted. Dizzy smiled.  
  
"That's good to know. Are you going out again tonight?"  
  
Dizzy asked him. Sol nodded.  
  
"Yeah. Something interesting may come up at night. You never know. So I'll see you later."  
  
He turned away from her, giving her a slight wave before putting his hands in his pockets and walking off. Dizzy turned toward the door, where Testament was holding it open.  
  
"Shall we?"  
  
He asked simply, holding out his hand. Dizzy nodded with a small giggle and took his hand.  
  
------  
  
Axl's Electric Accessories

'When me, Dizzy and Testament walked by this store, I could have sworn I've seen the owner before. If it really is who I think it is, I guess now's as good a time as any to kick his ass.'

Sol thought to himself as he stood in front of the store.  
  
"Sorry, were closed. Please come again tomorrow."  
  
A man said from behind the counter. He was reading a newspaper. His long blonde hair was tied up with a British flag bandanna. He wore a white shirt with a small jean jacket and a pair of jean shorts.  
  
"So...it really is you, Low."  
  
The voice made the man look up from his newspaper in surprise. Sol took this time to dramatically walk from the shadows of the room.  
  
"The Proto-type...So your really here."  
  
The man said.  
  
"Axl dear, are you coming to bed?"  
  
A woman's voice sounded from the stairway behind the counter. Axl turned to it.  
  
"Sorry Megumi, but an old acquaintance of mine is here, so were probably going to go out."  
  
Axl said.  
  
"Alright. Don't stay out too late though. You have to open the shop tomorrow."  
  
Megumi's voice came from upstairs again.  
  
"Don't worry, we'll probably be out for only an hour or so."  
  
Axl told her.  
  
------  
  
On the streets  
  
"So how do you want it? Quick and painless, or slow and painful?"  
  
Sol asked. Axl shook his head.  
  
"Neither. Can't you just hear me out?"  
  
Axl asked. He was then rammed into the side of a building and pinned there by Sol.  
  
"Hear you out? Did you guys hear me out before killing me and my soon to be wife before turning us into Gears?"  
  
Sol asked with a furious tone. Axl looked at him with a confused expression before realizing that Sol's eyes had changed from their usual red and yellow eye color to dark brown.  
  
"Freddie, it's you..."  
  
Before Axl could say anymore, Sol punched him hard in the stomach, making him fall to his knees.  
  
"Damn right it's me. If it had been the Gear who punched you, you would have a hole right through your stomach."  
  
Sol said to him. Axl looked confused.  
  
"You have your original Human persona within you?"  
  
Axl asked. Sol shook his head.  
  
"Not just the Human. Including myself, there is a total of three personas within this body. Me, the Human Frederick, the Gear called the Dragon, and then there's the most often used personality of Sol Badguy, who combines part of the Gear's powers yet still retains his Human logic."  
  
Sol explained. Axl's expression turned to even greater confusion. Sol looked annoyed.  
  
"Surely you knew all of this because you worked on the Gear Project in the United States after flying there all the way from Europe."  
  
Sol stated. Axl shook his head.  
  
"Freddie...You and me became best friends when we first met. As we got to know each other, I told you I was a part of the Gear Project. We were finally going to have our first Human subject, but when I found out it was you who would be the Proto-type to see if Humans could undergo the Gear conversion like animals could, I couldn't do it. I refused to be a part of toying with my best friend's body and decided to quit the Project. Officially it was stated that one could leave the Project if they wanted to, but that was just a lie. I was put in a holding cell for knowing too much information, or so I was told. Something amazing happened though. Before I say it though, Freddie, aren't you wondering how I can exist here still looking young when it was over two hundred years since the Gear Project?"  
  
Axl asked him. Sol shook his head.  
  
"It crossed my mind only briefly, Axl. Most of my thoughts were on how to kill you. I don't sense that your lying to me about wanting to quit to not help in the Gear conversion of me, so that doesn't make you my enemy. Not anymore. So go ahead, tell me how your able to survive so long through the past ages in order to be alive in this time."  
  
Sol asked, helping Axl to his feet. Axl smirked.  
  
"You probably won't believe me but here goes. The amazing thing that happened to me was a time slip. I went through a portal and ended up going steadily through the future. I finally learned to control it when I hit this time period and well since then...I have my just married Japanese wife and my store to watch over. I no longer time slip anymore unless it's by my control, so I've been able to make a living here in Zepp."  
  
Axl explained.  
  
"I see. I guess I'll trust you again then Axl. Sorry about the punch earlier."  
  
Sol said. He was a lot more polite in when it came down to his Human persona.  
  
"Hey, no problem, it was just a misunderstanding. Sol Badguy came here to be with his daughter, right?"  
  
Axl asked. Sol nodded.  
  
"Yeah. I can't blame him since my nut case of a father still roams around the world, although things have been quiet for a long time. I want to believe my old man finally croaked but I know it's just not that simple."  
  
Sol said. Axl nodded.  
  
"Your not mistaken either, Freddie, but I'm not the real one you should meet. Gabriel is here, did you know that? He also worked in the Gear Project. He's lived a long time unknown to most people before becoming the President of Zepp. Although he has a Gear's longitivity of life, I'm not sure if he's actually a Gear. That Man's techniques have increased dramatically. He can make powerful Humans using Gear technology and give them longer life without actually turning them into Gears, or so I believe. That's really all I know. I'm also not sure whether he has broken free of the team of the Gear Project like I have or is secretly still in league with them. You'll have to ask him yourself, well, you and Sol."  
  
Axl explained. Sol nodded.  
  
"I see. Well, It was nice talking with you Axl, but you have a wife who's waiting for you. Maybe, when this is all over, we can go out and have a beer sometime."  
  
Sol said to him. Axl nodded.  
  
"Hopefully. Anyway, see you later Freddie."  
  
Axl said before departing back for his shop. Sol's eyes returned to what they once where as his true persona took control.  
  
'So...things are becoming more serious than I originally imagined...I hope none of this means Dizzy will be in trouble in the near future...but all I can do is hope...for now. Maybe tomorrow I'll pay that asshole, Gabriel, a visit...'  
  
...To Be Continued...  
  
Note 2: Well, hopefully that last part is giving rise to a more solid plot, Sheo Darren. Also to The Hybrid, yes I know Sol's hair color is not originally black. You'll find that not every character who makes an appearance here ( and there are a lot of characters who will be showing up...) will not retain all the same physical attributes as they originally did. Of course they will usually just be minor changes like color of eyes or hair, and sometimes skin tone. Finally to SolxDizzy reviewer, sorry but this story's not going to have any actual incest between Sol and Dizzy. I may take it into consideration for another Guilty Gear story, so you'll just have to wait patiently and see. Anyway thanks for the positive reviews on this story. I'm glad to know people are enjoying it. Also, If something need better explaining or anything like that, just let me know. Oh yeah, and once again I'd like to thank the friend who made it possible to post this chapter up so quickly. If I'm lucky, she may be able to help me with later chapters so I can get them posted faster than I originally thought.


	4. The Pawns Of That Man

Chapter 4  
  
Written By Illuminet  
  
Disclaimer: Refer to the first chapter to view it.  
  
"..."-Indicate Speech  
  
'...'-Indicate Thought  
  
------  
  
[Preface]  
  
That Man...  
  
Frederick Mercury was a brilliant scientist. As is most characteristic of these types of people, they seek out and make new discoveries to be harnessed as a benefit for Humankind. And in most cases, the scientist who is the most motivated is the one with a (usually...) tragic past.  
  
Frederick Mercury's past is hardly any different from most cliché scientists with tragic pasts. Usually they will lead a good life first and foremost. He had a beautiful wife, a healthy child, a large house, in a nice neighborhood, and a good salary to support it all. Frederick was a man living the American Dream to the fullest. Of course, as it goes all the time, tragedy always strikes soon after, and the beautiful dream will become a disgusting nightmare.  
  
As fate should have it, despite the good neighborhood, Frederick's house becomes the target for a gang of punks who just happen to be strolling by for a night on the town. Luckily for Frederick's son, he happens to be at a friend's house for a sleep over. Unluckily for Frederick and his wife, their house gets pillaged, he gets nearly left for dead and has to witness the torture, rape, and murder of his lovely wife.  
  
Even after several years have past, Frederick can't forget. Two goals become his obsession that will begin to lead him into madness: raising the dead and the gift of immortality. Frederick works tirelessly for these goals, and eventually, the creation of the Gears comes to be...  
  
------  
  
Johnny's  
  
"Where are you going, dad?"  
  
Dizzy asks. Sol is carrying his guitar case.  
  
"I think it's time I looked for a job. Don't want to be sponging off this place forever."  
  
Sol told her.  
  
"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you for a while?"  
  
Dizzy asked. Sol shook his head.  
  
"No. I'll be fine. Can't take up all the time in your life."  
  
Sol told her.   
  
"What are you talking about? As a Gear, I have all the time in the world. Being with you won't take up much of my time ever."  
  
What Dizzy said was a good argument, but what Sol was going to say afterwards was an even better one.  
  
"Your right Dizzy, because your immortal like I am. It wouldn't be your time I'm taking, but what about your Human friends who would like to hang out with you? They don't live forever. Under normal circumstances anyway."  
  
Sol told her as he put a hand on her shoulder. Dizzy nodded.  
  
"Your right, dad. Well then, good luck finding a job."  
  
Dizzy told him. Sol nodded.  
  
'Sorry about lying like this, Dizzy. I would rather not have you involved if I could help it.'  
  
------  
  
Presidential Building  
  
'Why is it so god damn quiet...there isn't anyone here.'  
  
Sol looked at the large towering building of metal and glass. His gaze swept up to the tallest floor.   
  
'Must have sent everyone home. If he's expecting me, this could be a trap. Only one way to find out, of course.'  
  
------  
  
President's Office  
  
"So you've arrived, Proto-type. I've been waiting for you."  
  
Gabriel said from behind his large chair.  
  
"I'm not here to waste any fucking time. Where's the bastard hiding his ass?"  
  
Sol asked. Gabriel sighed.  
  
"This is my last mission for That Man. After this, I want to live my life in peace."  
  
Gabriel said. Sol looked questioningly at the President.  
  
"And what is your last mission?"  
  
Sol asked. A sinking feeling was settling in his stomach.   
  
"To aid in the capture of your daughter."  
  
Gabriel said. Sol narrowed his eyes.  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
Sol stated in disbelief.  
  
"Gabriel's role was very simple. He was only going to serve as a distraction to get you away from your daughter. We didn't think you'd learn of him being here quite so early, but I guess it's better this way."  
  
A deep voice spoke out. A mysterious man emerged from the shadows of the dimly lit office.  
  
"Who the hell are you?"  
  
Sol asked as he turned to face the newcomer.  
  
"I am a servant of That Man. My name is Raven. As I was saying, Gabriel's role is just to lure you here. I'm the one who will keep you from reaching your precious daughter. She is to be unofficially picked up by another of my master's servants."  
  
Raven said. Sol's muscles tensed up.  
  
"If your master wanted Dizzy so bad, why couldn't he just fucking get her while I was still in prison? The method he's using now doesn't make any god damn sense to me."  
  
Sol stated as brought his guitar out and let it rest by his side.  
  
"All I was told to tell you was that he wants to make you suffer. Why he does is his own business."  
  
Raven said. Sol had heard enough. Not wanting to waste time, he charged at Raven while bringing his guitar back. Once in reach, Sol smashed the instrument over Raven's head, but the man didn't even flinch from the attack.  
  
"What the fuck?"  
  
Sol wondered. Raven smirked slightly.  
  
"It was as he said. Your weak because you're the obsolete model. Of course you would be considering you're only a Proto-type. No production model for the Gears could ever hope to defeat someone like me since you don't evolve like normal complete Gears do."  
  
With that said, Raven brought his hand and blasted Sol back into a window.  
  
"Shit, you are strong. That one attack paralyzed me."  
  
Sol said, his voice strained as he tried to lift himself back on his feet. Raven grasped him roughly around the neck and lifted him up in the air.  
  
"You'll survive the fall, but I doubt you'll get back in time to save your daughter."  
  
Raven said. With that he tossed Sol through the window.  
  
"Well Gabriel, thanks for your cooperation. Your free to live a normal life."  
  
Raven said and walked away. Gabriel sighed.  
  
"He could have at least paid me for the damage done to the window. Oh well."  
  
------  
  
Presidential Building  
  
'Raven's powerful, but not that powerful. I guess That Man has underestimated my powers. He shouldn't have forgotten that I still have his son within me, who can make all the necessary upgrades for me so I won't have to remain obsolete just because I'm the Proto-type. With him in me I can further evolve my powers which I used to be so restricted on.'  
  
Sol thought as his body regenerated quickly back to normal.  
  
"Alright. Now all I have to do is make it back to Johnny's in time."  
  
Sol said to himself.  
  
------  
  
Johnny's  
  
"You've got the girl, I presume?"   
  
Raven asked as he looked to the woman who had Dizzy slung across her shoulder. The woman had light skin, and her red hair was cut short. She wore black leather clothing.   
  
"Don't be such an idiot, Raven. You can clearly see that I have her. So what's the point of asking?"  
  
The woman asked in a bored tone. Raven shrugged.  
  
"It's just the type of person I am, I-No."  
  
Raven said. I-No just shook her head.  
  
"Whatever. Let's just get out of here."  
  
I-No said.  
  
"You'll go no where with that woman."  
  
A voice called out to them. Raven and I-No both looked around, but could not see anyone.  
  
"Testament..."  
  
Dizzy muttered as she regained a bit of consciousness from on top of I-No's shoulder. Testament soon appeared before Raven and I-No, a crimson bladed scythe in hand.  
  
"Release her if you know what's good for you."  
  
Testament threatened. I-No smirked.  
  
"Another friend of hers are you? I suggest you get out of the way. Unless you want to end up getting beat up like all her other friends who tried to help her."  
  
I-No said smugly. Testament's eyes narrowed. With a wave of his hand, a second large scythe appeared in his grasp. His raven came from the sky to perch on his shoulder.  
  
"I'll warn you one more time. Release Dizzy now if you don't want to get hurt."  
  
Testament said. Raven stepped forward.  
  
"Just go, I-No. I'll handle this Gear."  
  
Raven said without averting his gaze from Testament.  
  
"Fine, see you later then."  
  
I-No told him and was about to teleport away when a familiar voice stopped her.  
  
"I don't think so, bitch."  
  
I-No turned to the source of the voice, only to have her head make impact with the fist of Sol Badguy. The punch made her sail back through the air, letting Dizzy's unconscious body dangle in mid air before falling into Sol's waiting arms.  
  
"Been a while, hasn't it, bitch?"  
  
Sol asked casually as I-No got up slowly from the ground. I-No glared over at Raven.  
  
"You dumb ass! You were suppose to keep the Proto-type from interfering."  
  
I-No told him angrily. Raven just glanced at Sol with slight surprise.  
  
"Amazing. Even with this Gear's interference, the Proto-type shouldn't have had the strength to reach this place in enough time. We must have..."  
  
Before Raven could continue, Testament began his assault. He came running towards Raven with his scythes held behind him. He slashed horizontally with his weapons. Raven caught the blades calmly in each of his hands, as his horn generated a beam of energy that sent Testament back. Testament's raven then plunged in for the attack. Transforming into a succubus, she swung out with her black scythe, surprising Raven as he lept back to avoid the strike, only to be hit by the blunt of one of Testament's red scythes as the succubus provided the distraction. Raven was sent on his back. Testament swung his scythe downward onto Raven, but the man brought up his foot to halt the blow. Raven spiraled upward from his position on the ground, using one foot to kick Testament's scythe away and the other to kick Testament solidly in the chest. Testament staggered back slightly, and before he could recover, Raven grasped the Gear's shoulders tightly and then used a head butt to impale Testament's head with the horn that adorned his forehead. Testament fell lifelessly to the ground. Raven turned to see Sol and I-No fighting. Dizzy had been laid gently on the ground. Raven smirked.  
  
"Good. Easy pickings."  
  
Raven muttered to himself. Before he could do anything, however, he was lifted up off the ground from behind by Testament. Testament's fingers went right through Raven's back as they transformed into crimson blades, keeping Raven pinned.  
  
"Impossible. You could have survived it, but the attack should have made you fall into unconsciousness."  
  
Raven said. Testament smirked.  
  
"Your right. I would have been unconscious, if it wasn't an illusion you had struck. Even if your not a Gear, I can't kill you by normal means. So this will have to suffice for now..."  
  
Testament said as he tossed Raven behind him. Raven was caught in a crimson web.  
  
"What is this?"  
  
Raven asked as he tried to get free. Testament began to spin Raven until he was wrapped up in a red cocoon.  
  
"Just a little technique of mine."  
  
Testament said offhandedly. Raven wriggled about, trying to free himself. Testament shook his head.  
  
"You can break free however many times you want, but I can always use my technique to keep you bound. So you'll be too late when Sol beats your comrade."  
  
Testament told him. As for Sol and I-No, they were trading blows with their guitars.  
  
"Where's he hiding, bitch? Tell me right now."  
  
Sol ordered. I-No grunted as she was forced to block a very powerful downward strike from Sol's guitar.  
  
"Like I'd really tell you, you fucking prick."  
  
I-No growled. Sol smirked.  
  
"Fine, have it your way. I'll just beat the fucking information out of you, bitch!"  
  
Sol said smugly. I-No swiftly came forward with a blow to Sol's side, but Sol absorbed the shock of the attack with most of his guitar as he brought it up. Sol pushed I-No back, making her lose balance, as he effectively lashed out with a back strike of his weapon against her side to knock her over. Sol slammed down with his guitar but I-No brought hers up to block the attack. Sol's attack had such force behind it that large cracks arose on the pavement under I-No's back. Sol was pressing harder against his guitar, and neither combatants could push against each other, try hard as they did. I-No soon realized an opportunity to turn the tables. She struck out fiercely with her stiletto high boot, letting her boot strike Sol right between the legs. Sol flinched and staggered back as I-No quickly got up and smashed her guitar to the side of his head, knocking him on his back. I-No smirked as she stood over him.  
  
"It's a good thing you have that weakness that all guys have."  
  
She said as she placed her stiletto boot over the place she had attacked earlier and grinded her heel down on it. Sol grunted roughly from the pain, but a small smirk came to his face.  
  
"Hey bitch, want to see something really cool?"  
  
He said in an arrogant and somewhat pained voice. Without warning he bucked his hips upward, making I-No lose balance again. He brought his leg up to kick her solidly in the stomach to knock the wind right out of her and send her back, kneeling. Sol was up in an instant. Holding the back of her head.  
  
"Stupid bitch..."  
  
Sol muttered as he sent his knee colliding with her head.  
  
"Don't ever..."  
  
Sol struck her with his knee again.  
  
"Do that..."  
  
Sol delivered a third knee.  
  
"Again, bitch. Got that?"  
  
Sol released her as he sent his final knee at her head, making her head reel back swiftly. Sol grasped her around the neck. He then turned to Testament.  
  
"Here, catch."  
  
He tossed I-No in Testament's direction, where she was caught in a crimson web and spun up like a cocoon and put besides Raven's cocoon.  
  
"What should we do with them?"  
  
Testament asked. Sol looked down at them.  
  
"We should..."  
  
Sol never finished as his head turned to the side.  
  
"Shit! Can't be..."  
  
Was all Sol could say as he was engulfed in a powerful ray of light from behind him. Testament covered his eyes from the blast as it nearly blinded him.  
  
"Justice...no, you should be dead!"  
  
Testament stared in disbelief at the white armored Gear in his line of vision. She teleported behind him and used her left arm to take hold of Raven and I-No, who were still in their cocoons, then teleported by Dizzy, taking the unconscious Gear in her right arm. Justice didn't even look back at Testament, she simply teleported away from the scene. Testament was dumbstruck for a while, but snapped out of it as he turned to see Sol standing besides him. Sol was practically left naked from the attack, as his clothing was torn open from behind, and he had to keep his right hand up to keep his suppression head piece device on since the leather straps were now broken, letting his wild, long black hair run freely over his back. He was leaning heavily against his guitar, not because of pain, but more out of shock.  
  
"Was it her...was it really her?"  
  
Sol asked in a low voice. Testament nodded slowly.  
  
"No mistake. It could only be Justice."  
  
Testament said as he lowered his head in shame. Sol fell to his knees, his guitar falling from his left hand. He slammed his fist into the pavement, laving a rather large hole in it.  
  
"...Wanted to see me suffer..."  
  
Sol whispered, his head down. Testament barely heard him. Sol's golden eye began to glow eerily. He looked up to the sky and roared.  
  
"ARE YOU FUCKING HAPPY NOW??!! BY TAKING AWAY MY FAMILY YOU ASSHOLE!!!"  
  
He lowered his head.  
  
"...You'll never get away with this...Wait for me, I'll have your head yet, you god damn fucking bastard..."  
  
...To Be Continued...  
  
Note: Since I don't have my normal computer to work with (because it decided to crash on me when I needed it most), I have to use a friend's. So I'm restricted with the time I have to work with. Still, I was able to put an update in earlier then expected. Hopefully this chapter came out okay. There are some things I didn't like about this chapter, but I don't want to ramble so I'll end the note here. 


	5. Life's A Bitch, Or Something Like That

Chapter 5  
  
Written By Illuminet  
  
Disclaimer: Refer to the first chapter.  
  
"..."-Indicate Speech  
  
'...'-Indicate Thought  
  
------  
  
[Preface]  
  
Ky Kiske...  
  
Few of the countless lives on the planet believe in justice so highly as he does. To the many people who have been graced by his presence, he is often regarded as the last true saint on Earth. It is often hard to believe someone who has lived through such a harsh childhood could remain so...pure (for a lack of better words) as he has.  
  
Never knowing his own mother's true identity, Ky was raised in the back streets of France with his poor but loving father. It was his father who was the first one to play a key role for Ky that would turn him into the type of person he was now. Ky's father told him that his mother abandoned them and left their family in ruin. To help his child cope with this loss, Ky's father turned Ky towards religion as a means of releasing the harboring loathing and distastefulness Ky had for his mother. Ky had absorbed much of the teachings and used them as a means of making his life better despite the hard times he and his father shared.  
  
Gear attacks were becoming very frequent around the territories surrounding France and it was not long before the country itself fell to invasion. Ky's father sacrificed his own life for the sake of keeping his only son alive. The Gear invasion was barely halted by the charismatic leader of the Sacred Order of Holy Knights, Kliff Undersn. It was Kliff who became the second role model and father figure to young Ky Kiske once Ky enlisted to become a Holy Knight.  
  
Ky had a gift which few people possessed. Of all the elemental magic ever studied, Lightning magic is the hardest innate magic to find in a person. This innate magic gift within Ky allowed him to wield the lightning amplifying blade of the Outrage Set, Thunder Seal, to it's full potential. With sword in hand and skill honed through combat, once Ky became leader of the Order, he battled Justice and defeated her to gain the peace he and his father had wanted to come for so long during the bleak years of the Crusades.  
  
Here and now, in Zepp with his family, Ky Kiske learns of the reappearance of Justice. He also learns that many of the Humans are beginning to panic in fear of a second Crusade. Fearing the worst, Ky decides he must pay another visit to Sol Badguy...  
  
------  
  
[Main Story]  
  
Johnny's  
  
Sol was rudely awakened by a pounding at his door.  
  
"God damn it! Who the fuck is it? I've got a headache here, asshole!"  
  
Sol said in annoyance. Johnny's voice sounded from the other side of the door.  
  
"Uh, Sol...you may not want to step outside the airship for a while."  
  
Johnny said with a nervous tone in his voice. Sol got up groggily and cracked his neck to get the aching muscles to relax.  
  
"For a while? How long is a while?"  
  
Sol asked as he stood up. Johnny didn't answer immediately.  
  
"Let's just say that a mob of frightened people are trying to break in here and kill you."  
  
Johnny said. Sol was instantly at his door and opened it.  
  
"What the fuck?! I've got a daughter to save here and a bunch of people are just going to stop me? Bull shit!"  
  
Sol said in and angry tone as he grabbed the collar of Johnny's trench coat. Johnny brought up his hands apologetically.  
  
"Sorry Sol, but this mob of people are Gear haters who want your head."  
  
Johnny stated. Sol eyed him strangely.  
  
"What for?"  
  
Sol asked. Johnny shrugged.  
  
"Well, since this place is sound proof I had to use a speaker to find out what they were all shouting about. Apparently the whole thing yesterday with Justice's reappearance is already world news. They said people around the world are starting to panic like crazy. I hear some Gears in other countries aren't so fortunate as they are in Zepp. In fact, I hear that the mob of people outside who started a riot around Zepp aren't even from Zepp. Their a bunch a people who flew on over last night just for a chance to have your head."  
  
Johnny explained to Sol. Sol just shook his head and sighed.  
  
"Fucking great...this is just the kind of thing I need when Dizzy's been kidnapped. What about the Zeppian Humans who are here? Not a single one is protesting out there with the out of town Humans?"  
  
Sol asked. Johnny shook his head.  
  
"Nope, not a one. Only the Zeppian Police are out there. There the reason the people out there haven't come busting in here to chop off your head. Oh yeah, one more thing, Ky's coming over to pay you a visit."  
  
Johnny told him. Sol sighed heavily.  
  
"Why me? Why do these things always have to happen at the worst possible times? At this rate, he'll probably find a way to bring Dizzy under his control, that fucking bastard."  
  
Sol said in anger as he pounded the side of the wall with his fist, leaving a large crack in it.  
  
"You know your going to have to pay for the damages you just did to the wall, don't you? But while were on the subject, who is this -he- your talking about?"  
  
Johnny asked. Before Sol could say another word, Testament came in on the conversation.  
  
"The Gear Creator, most likely. I'd tell you more, but Sol would have infinitely more information than even I could hope to know about the creator."  
  
Testament said. Johnny turned to Sol.  
  
"The Gear Creator, huh? Care to elaborate on that, Sol?"  
  
Johnny asked. Sol looked at Johnny.  
  
"To you? Nah. When the boy gets here you'll learn more then, well, maybe."  
  
Sol said, walking away from Johnny and Testament.  
  
"Why is he always so damn elusive, or is it just me?"  
  
Johnny said to Testament. Before Testament could say anything, May came rushing in the hallway.  
  
"Hey Johnny, Ky's here."  
  
She told him. Johnny nodded.  
  
"Okay May. Let's go."  
  
The three made their way to the entryway of the air ship where Sol was leaning against a wall casually smoking a cigarette, while Ky and his family were standing in front of him.  
  
"Sol, I need some honest answers from you. Many claim Justice has been sighted around the nightclub grounds. I need to know for sure. Does she still live?"  
  
Ky asked Sol while showing his most serious face to Sol. Sol's visor covered his eyes, so it was difficult to read what he was thinking about. After a while, Sol nodded.  
  
"Yeah. I didn't see her personally, but Testament did. She's been revived as a pawn to That Man."  
  
Sol said in a low tone.  
  
"That Man...your talking about the creator of the Gears, right? Why would he want to take Dizzy? What would be his motive? Is there something special about her that could cause a world crisis or anything like that?"  
  
Ky asked, his interest in the mysterious creator peeking. Sol shrugged.  
  
"Dizzy's powers are amongst some of the highest around in the world. Still, that's hardly a reason to take her. He's got something else planned now that she's been captured. What that is of course isn't known to me."  
  
Sol said. It was true for the most part. Raven only left the cryptic message that his master wanted Sol to suffer. Sol had to agree, though, That Man was doing a pretty good job of it too. Another good question Sol wanted answered was why That Man wanted him to suffer. That Man was not so sadistic that he would do it out of personal enjoyment. There was a reason he was doing this, and Sol swore that he would find out before killing him.  
  
"Oh, I see. I should pay a visit to my old comrade, Baiken. She called me up earlier saying she wanted to help. She said she and two others would be waiting for my arrival. We should get going, Sol."  
  
Ky said. Sol shook his head in protest to the idea.  
  
"Hey, I'm doing this solo. I don't have any fucking time to waste on you dumb asses. You can go ahead and round up your allies, but you can count me out, boy."  
  
Sol said as he quickly made his way towards the front door. Ky stopped him.  
  
"You know there's a mob of people waiting out there to kill you because they think your responsible for Justice's revival."  
  
Ky told him. Sol just shrugged, letting his cigarette fall from his mouth and hit the floor before he stomped it out with his foot.  
  
"Like I give a shit about them. I'll just kick their asses for a while until they cower in fear and run away like the fucking idiots they are."  
  
Sol said smoothly. When Sol got his hand round the knob of the front door, he heard the clicking of a gun.  
  
"Don't make me have to shoot you, Sol."  
  
Ky said firmly. Sol shook his head.  
  
"Look boy, I don't have time for this bull shit. If your going to shoot me, then shoot me. But I've wasted far too much time already. I need to find my child. As one father to another one, if you were in my situation and it was your son who got kidnapped, wouldn't you want to save him with your own strength?"  
  
Sol said to him. Ky lowered his head a bit.  
  
"If that was the case, I'd have to agree with your way of thinking, but that doesn't mean it's the right way to do things. I'm not saying that it's a problem to do things your way, Sol, but if I were around, it would make your search that much easier."  
  
Ky said. Sol sighed.  
  
'He may be right, you know? Ky Kiske has such influence over the common people, he may be able to prevent something violent from occurring between you and them. You don't want that kind of reputation for beating up the common people would you? That could put Dizzy in danger as well once she's been rescued.'  
  
His human side rationed.  
  
'Who cares about the people? With this strength, you could protect Dizzy easily even if you gained such a reputation.'  
  
The animalistic Gear side said.  
  
'I'll have to use the Human's way of thinking and the Gear's power to get her back. I'd rather not have Dizzy, actually all Gears, fearing for their lives just because I decided to pick a fight with a mob of Humans.'  
  
Sol decided. Taking his hand off the knob, Sol stepped back from the door.  
  
"Fine, boy. I guess we can do things your way, for now. Let me get my guitar."  
  
Sol said. Ky shook his head.  
  
"I'm sorry Sol. Since you use it as a weapon I can't let you have it when we step outside. It may cause the crowd to panic."  
  
Ky said. Sol growled.  
  
"You've got to be fucking kidding me here. What the hell do you expect me to use? My fists will only take me so far. You want me to put on my Gear armor or something? That'll really get your crowd in a panic."  
  
Sol said furiously.  
  
"How about using a weapon of the Outrage set?"  
  
Ky asked. Sol looked at Ky with surprise.  
  
"You serious? A Gear being allowed to use a Gear destroying weapon, huh? How do you know you can trust me with such a powerful tool?"  
  
Sol asked him.  
  
"I don't trust you with that kind of weapon. If you do decide to betray me in any way, the weapon you choose will work against you. Being a Gear, that won't bold well with you, will it?"  
  
Ky said smartly. Sol smirked.  
  
"Impressive, you have it all figured out, do you? Alright, fine. I'll use one of your weapons of the Outrage. My guitar wasn't standing up to well against that one bitch's anyway."  
  
Sol said.  
  
------  
  
On The Way To Baiken's place...  
  
"For a minute there, I thought they really were going to break into the limo. That would not have been a very good scenario."  
  
Bridget said. About twenty minutes ago, Sol had been hand cuffed and escorted to the vehicle by Ky. The arrest was just a cover up so the people wouldn't go crazy. Jam, Bridget, May, Johnny, and Testament had followed behind them. Once inside the pearl white limousine, Sol had his handcuffs removed. It was around that time May opened the dark tinted window slightly. Although she was too short to be seen by the crowd, Johnny, who sat next to her, and Sol, who sat next to him, were in clear view. It was at that point a gunshot went off. Sol moved his head slightly, already knowing where the bullet was coming from. The bullet flew through the window, almost hitting Johnny. Sol had moved his head so that his metal head piece would be hit by the bullet. Once the bullet met with the visor, if fell to the carpeted floor of the limo. Once the shot was fired, panic ensued from it and the crowd went into a murderous frenzy and started charging at the limo. The limo barely escaped. Ky had a feeling he would find a lot of scrapes on the side of the door where the crowd had been clawing on.  
  
"What, are you going to indirectly blame me for opening the window? It was just so stuffy in here."  
  
May told him, her voice escalating a bit. Johnny put a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Calm down May. No use getting so worked up about it."  
  
Johnny said to her. Sol grunted and put a cigarette in his mouth. Jam plucked the cigarette from his mouth and threw it out the window, much to Sol's annoyance.  
  
"Hey lady, I was going to use that, you know?"  
  
Sol said. Jam shook her head.  
  
"No way. Smoking is a disgusting habit that you should really start to quit."  
  
Jam said firmly. Johnny turned towards Sol.  
  
"She's got a point. How long have you been smoking anyway?"  
  
Johnny asked. Sol thought a bit before shrugging.  
  
"About the past one hundred fifty years or so, give or take."  
  
Sol said in a bored tone. Save for Testament, everyone else looked at Sol with wide eyes.  
  
"You've been smoking for that long? I'm surprised your still in such good shape."  
  
Johnny said.  
  
"Yeah, and your teeth are still pearly white."  
  
Bridget said.  
  
"And your breath doesn't reek of tobacco."  
  
Ky said.  
  
"Can't really say the same thing about your clothes, though."  
  
Jam said.  
  
"Well at least they only smell faintly of tobacco."  
  
May said. Sol was getting annoyed.  
  
"Would you all just shut the fuck up? Damn, I can't even hear myself think with all of you talking."  
  
Sol said roughly. Everyone went silent.  
  
"It's because he's a Gear. The harmful side effects of prolonged smoking that effects Humans doesn't affect him."  
  
Testament said. Everyone turned to face him, except Sol, who was looking out through the tinted window.  
  
"Why aren't Gears affected like Humans are? I thought the anatomy of Humans and Gears were almost the same."  
  
May said. Testament nodded.  
  
"True. But it is that almost that separates us from you. As you know, Gears were originally meant to be a further evolution for the Humans. No human sickness, disease, or virus can affect us because of our special purification systems, which operates tirelessly like a machine. It's that same system which allows us to use harmful human products, like cigarettes or alcohol, without being affected by their prolonged exposure."  
  
Testament explained.  
  
"It's too bad that at the cost of this more enhanced evolution, Gears lost the free will they had as normal people."  
  
Johnny said in a sympathetic tone.  
  
"Well, before Justice regained her free will and somehow had the ability to give all the Gears around the world their own free will. I always wondered why she could do that."  
  
Ky said as he lowered his head.  
  
"It's because she was installed with the Command Ability. If she had really wanted to, she could have forced her will upon other Gears and could have had them invade the world without trying to negotiate peace first, but she used her own ability to help Gears gain their own free will instead."  
  
Testament said. Ky looked deep in thought.  
  
"If Justice can use the Command Ability. Why doesn't she use it to control the Gears again? That Man could use her and gain world domination."  
  
Ky said.  
  
"He doesn't want world domination, boy. And even if he did, Using Justice's ability wouldn't work because of two things. One, the only Gears she'd be able to control are the Gears who were created in the laboratories. Gears born from other Gears and half Gears will not be affected by Justice's Command Ability. Two, Because of my own existence, the factory created Gears will not succumb to her will. So all Gears are safe from her ability."  
  
Sol explained, while still looking out the window. He had been very quiet while Testament was talking, so everyone nearly forgot he was in the car with them.  
  
"What do you mean because of your own existence?"  
  
Ky asked. Sol didn't face him, but continued to speak.  
  
"The funny thing about Justice's Command Ability, it will only affect the Gears made after her. As the Proto-type, I was never affected by her Command Ability in the slightest. But I also was eventually going to become an obsolete Gear because I was the first test subject, and the technology behind my creation wasn't perfected at the time. All complete Gears, despite being made, can continue to evolve and become stronger, like a normal Human, albeit at a much higher level. I was not given that kind of evolving power initially because I wasn't a truly complete Gear like all the ones after me. Once I gained my own free will, I was able to complete myself behind That Man's back and I've evolved my power further ever since, just like all the other Gears. Just yesterday when I found out Justice was alive, I created and installed an Anti-Command Ability to counter the Command Ability in Justice. Just as a precaution of course."  
  
Sol explained. Bridget looked at Sol strangely.  
  
"Uh...how do Gears evolve and how can they install programs and such?"  
  
Bridget asked.  
  
"Listen kid, despite what the name implies, Gears aren't in any way mechanical. We have all these cells that work like nano machines that are used to maintain us and allow us to regenerate injuries that are in most cases fatal for a normal Human being, and prevent us from aging or getting contaminated by Human diseases. Our brains also work like super computers. Only That Man has the skill necessary to build and install programs into Gears. When I had barely gained my free will while still an incomplete Gear, I also was able to learn how to create and install the necessary programs myself. I also taught other Gears through a mind link how the process worked during the Crusades."  
  
Sol explained. Bridget still looked puzzled.  
  
"How is that possible for you to install it, though? That is...where can the program be inserted?"  
  
Bridget asked curiously.  
  
"All created Gears are given a special emblem that is branded on their fore head. It may look like a tattoo to tell the difference from Humans and Gears, but that is the area where programs are absorbed so they can be installed."  
  
Testament said. He pointed to his fore head where the emblem glowed slightly.  
  
"But what if a program is corrupted? Won't that make a Gear...malfunction?"  
  
Jam asked, getting in the conversation. Testament shook his head.  
  
"Before a program is installed. It will be scanned thoroughly. If the program is affected in any way and can't be fixed by the brain, the program will be rejected and expelled from the body. The same goes for programs that are initially to powerful for a Gear at a certain point in time. If a program is too powerful for a Gear, he or she won't be able to use it until their powers have increased enough to install a program."  
  
Testament explained.  
  
"Also, a Gear's program that is installed is always something unique to that Gear and can never be used by other Gears. Gears can have similar programs but no one of them is totally the same as another Gear's. Now enough of the questioning. Let's get this over with."  
  
Sol said, cracking his neck audibly once the limo finally stopped.  
  
------  
  
Baiken's place  
  
Baiken's house was in a rural area of the Residential District. The house was big enough to pass off as a mansion and was made like a traditional Japanese house.  
  
"Wow, this Baiken lives pretty far from the Residential District, huh?"  
  
May said. Johnny looked down at May in surprise.  
  
"You don't remember Baiken, May? Well, you were still a kid when she came for a visit. She was my sparring partner who helped me perfect my iai-jutsu technique. Or maybe it was April who was there at the time...?"  
  
Johnny said, trying to remember which one was with him that day. May put a hand to her chin in thought.  
  
"No, her name's not drawing up any memories. Why don't you describe her? I might remember then."  
  
May told him.  
  
"Well, if it was you who was there, she was the short Japanese woman with pink hair, lightly tanned skin, and big breasts. Does that ring any bells?"  
  
Johnny asked her. May once again went in thought. After a little bit, she snapped her fingers in realization.  
  
"Oh yeah, I was there when you two sparred. She had one eye and a tattoo on the side of her face right? And the one prosthetic arm?"  
  
May said. Johnny nodded.  
  
"Yeah, that's the one."  
  
Johnny said.  
  
"If you two are quite finished, can we be on our way?"  
  
Ky asked them. The two nodded and everyone made it to the front of the house.  
  
"Would you look at that? No door bell."  
  
Bridget said. Ky looked down at him.  
  
"I guess she really wanted the feel of a traditional Japanese House. These look like genuine shoji screen doors."  
  
Ky said.  
  
"That's because they are genuine shoji screen doors."  
  
A voice said from behind it. The door slid open to reveal a short woman in a loose yellow colored yukata robe that showed a fair amount of cleavage.  
  
"Hello Ms. Baiken. It's been a while."  
  
Ky said politely, holding out his hand. Baiken just looked at his hand, and instead shaking his hand she bowed slightly before stepping aside.  
  
"Come in."  
  
She said before walking ahead. Ky blushed slightly in embarrassment at forgetting that the Japanese usually bowed in greeting rather than give handshakes. The small party followed Baiken, Sol and Testament taking up the rear.  
  
'So that's the legendary Samurai Baiken that scared most Gears out of their wits in the Crusades?'  
  
Testament mentally asked Sol. Sol shrugged.  
  
'It would seem so. I heard from some friends of hers that she actually went into guitar making, if you can believe that. Johnny wasn't lying though when he said this chick had big breasts. Her tits are huge.'  
  
Sol said to Testament.  
  
'Yeah, but do you think their real?'  
  
Testament said. Sol nodded.  
  
'Amazingly enough, my analysis draws the conclusion that they are. What about you?'  
  
Sol asked him. Testament nodded.  
  
'Yeah, my conclusion came out the same as yours. One hundred percent all natural. Some what rare for the typical Human female, but not an impossibility.'  
  
Testament said.  
  
'How the hell did we get in this conversation again? Oh yeah, I made the comment on how big her tits were. We shouldn't dwell too much about this anymore, despite how humorous it may seem as of now. Agreed?'  
  
Sol said to Testament. Testament nodded.  
  
'Agreed.'  
  
Baiken lead them to a room near, what everyone assumed, was somewhere in the side of the mansion. Everyone was instructed to sit wherever they liked on the tatami matted floor. Anji and Chipp came in soon after.  
  
"Hey, Sol, what's up? I guess we all ended up seeing each other quicker than we originally thought, huh?"  
  
Chipp said as he sat on the right of Baiken.  
  
"I heard your daughter was taken. Is that true?"  
  
Anji asked. Baiken cleared her throat.  
  
"Sit down and shut up before I make you."  
  
She told him. Anji immediately saluted to her and dashed over to sit on left from her.  
  
"So, I heard Justice is back. That can only mean That Man has something to do with it. I'm willing to bet everything I own that he's the one your all seeking."  
  
Baiken said once Anji had been seated. Ky nodded.  
  
"Your right. When I met with Sol Badguy, he did confirm that it was indeed That Man who resurrected Justice. He must be found and stopped. Dizzy, Sol's daughter, was taken as a hostage, just to answer your question Anji. Unfortunately, trying to find That Man is going to be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. No known technological advancements have allowed us to scan out where he resides currently."  
  
Ky explained.  
  
"He'll always be one step ahead of all technological advancements. He's the smartest and cleverest Human alive in the world after all. What did you expect, boy?"  
  
Sol said. Baiken turned towards Sol.  
  
"You're the Proto-type Gear, right? You still call that monster a Human? If he's lived for so long he must have already undergone the Gear conversion himself."  
  
Baiken said hotly. Sol shook his head.  
  
"Don't count on it. I've recently learned that he's advanced his skills a bit. He can give Humans Gear like abilities and life spans without turning them into true Gears at all. I'll bet he's still a Human despite how long he's actually been alive."  
  
Sol said matter of factly. Axl had been the only one to let Sol know this. Now that it was no longer a secret, this information would have to be absorbed by the rest of the room's occupants.  
  
"For what reason would he have to do such a thing?"  
  
Ky wondered. Sol sighed, thinking about Raven and I-No.  
  
"To create his pawns..."  
  
------  
  
Unknown  
  
'Dad...'  
  
Dizzy opened her eyes slowly. She could barely make out anything in the dark at first, but her eyes adjusted quickly and she found herself chained to a wall in a dank cell. Dizzy tried using her strength to get free, but despite their brittle appearance, the iron shackles held.  
  
"I would just relax if I were you. Your powers are rendered ineffective with those power suppressing restraints."  
  
A deep voice said to her. Dizzy could barely make out a cloaked person amongst the darkness.  
  
"Who are you? Where am I?"  
  
Dizzy asked, her voice fearful.  
  
"Unfortunately my dear, innocent, little Dizzy, I can't tell you where we are. But I can tell you who I am. The name will most likely be a familiar one. I am called That Man by both Humans and Gears alike."  
  
He said to her. Dizzy gasped in surprise.  
  
"Your That Man? So you're the master that woman I was fighting was talking about. Why did you have her capture me? Why did you take me away from my Dad?"  
  
Dizzy asked him. That Man let out a sigh.  
  
"Forgive me my dear child, but you are just serving as a means to an end. Your father's power is needed to save the world. But he's not yet ready. I need his negative feelings for me to grow and harvest for the Gear within him, so that it's power may evolve further and more quickly. So much time has been wasted already."  
  
That Man said in a cryptic manner which Dizzy did not understand.  
  
"What do you mean so much time has been wasted? On what?"  
  
Dizzy asked him. That Man shook his head.  
  
"When that day comes...The Night That Never Ends...one out of three will fight against a dangerous enemy and only one of two outcomes can be decided."  
  
That Man said softly.  
  
"One out of three? Two outcomes? What do you mean? Please make understand your intentions."  
  
Dizzy pleaded with him. He began to pace around the small cell, his cloak flowing eerily around him.  
  
"Three personas exist in your father. The Human, Frederick, will be too weak to do battle and win. If he is the one who fights and loses, the world will end. Should the complete embodiment of the Gear, Dragon, be used it will most likely have the power necessary to win the battle. However, the Dragon lacks the ability to think with free will and only runs on its animalistic instincts. It will most likely destroy the world with it in the end. All of my hope must rest on the one who uses the Human's free will and the Gear's immense power, Sol Badguy. Yet his Gear powers will drive his Human side mad. Your father must have near complete control to be able to win. I curse my powerlessness in this situation, but there is nothing else I can do."  
  
That Man said sadly.  
  
"Your highness, there has been unrest in her ever since she got back. I believe it's time to tune her."  
  
A voice said from beside Dizzy. She had to fight the urge to scream out in surprise at the kneeling Raven, who somehow got into the room without a sound.  
  
"So...seeing her daughter is starting to make her remember...very well, Raven. Let us see Justice."  
  
That Man said. Hearing the name, Dizzy looked at him in surprise.  
  
"My mother...is she really alive?!"  
  
Dizzy asked quickly. That Man nodded.  
  
"Yes...like you, she is just a means to an end. I didn't think she would be able to start remembering anything from her suppressed memories once I resurrected her...I guess your family bond is strong if it can make her remember despite never seeing you as an adult."  
  
He said to Dizzy.  
  
"Please...let me see her."  
  
Dizzy said softly, lowering her head. That Man remained silent for a long time.  
  
"Raven...unbind her."  
  
That Man said. Raven looked to his master in surprise.  
  
"But my liege...if she were to come in contact with Justice now..."  
  
Raven began to say, but That Man turned to him and Raven went silent. Raven gave a slight bow.  
  
"By your will, then..."  
  
Raven said and did as he was instructed. Dizzy collapsed on the ground, her limbs feeling like jelly. Once she regained her strength she stood up and looked at That Man.  
  
"Come with me."  
  
That Man said. Both he and Raven went right through the wall, much to Dizzy's surprise. Attentively, Dizzy brought her hand up to the wall and pushed against it. It went through. Taking a deep breath, Dizzy walked on. Her eyes went blind momentarily from having to adjust to the bright light. Once they adjusted, Dizzy found herself in a room of wire and glass. Many of the cylinder glass tanks around her contained some type of mutated body part of some sort. Dizzy sped up her pace, seeing as That Man and Raven were quite far ahead of her. Once she caught up with them, they had stopped in front of a wall inscribed with the words -Gear Type 00l : Justice- on it. That Man turned to Dizzy.  
  
"Go ahead."  
  
He said. Dizzy nodded and walked through the wall. She found herself in a dimly lit room. A large cylinder tank held a naked female inside of it. The woman's body was curled up in a fetal position as she was suspended in the tube by a clear liquid. Dizzy rushed over to the tube and put her hands on the cold glass surface.  
  
"Mother..."  
  
Dizzy whispered softly. It was as Sol said. Dizzy and Justice looked nothing alike. But Dizzy could feel a deep attachment to this Gear when she saw her.  
  
"Perhaps I was too concerned. It would appear as if she is calm now."  
  
Raven said as he came up closer, That Man not trailing to far behind him.  
  
"Are you satisfied, Dizzy? Here sleeps your mother and my first complete creation."  
  
That Man said, almost boastfully. He said nothing else as he let Dizzy see her mother for the first time physically.  
  
'Dad would be so happy to see her, and I'm sure mom would be happy as well...'  
  
Dizzy thought. An idea began formulating in her head. An ill devised escape plan, but Dizzy had been alone for so long she yearned for her parents and herself to live a normal life happily together.  
  
'I don't know if it will work...but this could be my only chance, so...!'  
  
Without warning, That Man and Raven were blinded by a bright light that emanated from Dizzy's body. All that could be heard was the breaking of glass and metal. Once the room was left in darkness and his eyes adjusted. Raven growled.  
  
"So she escaped with type 001. I will apprehend them immediately."  
  
Raven said and immediately gave chase.  
  
------  
  
With Dizzy and Justice...  
  
Dizzy sped down the narrow corridors as fast as she could. The wings and tail on her back protruded through her black dress. She moved as best she could with her wings flapping frantically through the narrow halls, while keeping hold of her unconscious mother. For how long she traveled about, she couldn't be sure.  
  
'This place is built like a maze...'  
  
Dizzy thought as she hit a dead end. She decided quickly where to head to and sped on through the wall. Not all of the walls were illusions, some were real, but Dizzy had little problem breaking through them. After several twists and turns, Dizzy had found what she hoped was an exit. The light was almost blinding at the end of path since she had been in the dark for so long. Dizzy would have proceeded onward had the Gear she'd been carrying not let out a slight "  
  
Justice groaned out softly, her eyes flicking open slightly.  
  
"Mom...are you awake?"  
  
Dizzy asked softly. Justice's body shivered. Their eyes met briefly.  
  
"It's...you...isn't it?"  
  
Justice said roughly, as if she hadn't talked in a long time. Dizzy nodded, tears forming in her eyes.  
  
"Mom, we have to go. Dad's waiting for us."  
  
Dizzy said. Justice smiled slightly.  
  
"He...found you...then?"  
  
Justice asked, her voice becoming stronger.  
  
"Of course. We have to go, I'm not sure how long we're going to be safe here."  
  
Dizzy said firmly. Justice moved her head around a bit, looking around.  
  
"Where are we?"  
  
She asked. Her body was no longer shivering, and she was standing with less support from her daughter.  
  
"I'm not sure. I was unconscious when I was brought here. It's some place owned by That Man..."  
  
Dizzy said. Justice's form went rigid.  
  
"He's the one behind this?"  
  
She spat out with hatred. Dizzy nodded. Justice was seething with anger, as her fists began clenching and unclenching. Justice shook her head to not let herself get too angered. Once she visibly calmed down she turned to Dizzy.  
  
"Let's get out of here."  
  
Justice said. The two made their way to the end of the corridor. Both froze in place when they saw where they were.  
  
"What is this place? It's so desolate..."  
  
Dizzy said. Justice recognized it though.  
  
"This is the Stairway to the Heavens...how did we get here?"  
  
Justice asked.  
  
"It's just an illusion. A fitting place to end your miserable little existence, though, don't you think?"  
  
I-No said. Dizzy narrowed her eyes at the woman.  
  
"You're the one from before."  
  
Dizzy said in a dangerous tone.  
  
"Come along quietly, you two. I would rather avoid a conflict."  
  
Raven said, appearing next to I-No. Justice glared at both of That Man's servants.  
  
"Get the hell out of our way!"  
  
She ordered. I-No laughed.  
  
"You think a relic like you can handle us?"  
  
I-No said. The whole thing was hysterical to her. Raven sighed.  
  
"Enough of this nonsense. I-No, remember, we only need to apprehend them so don't go over board like you usually do."  
  
Raven warned her. I-No nodded her head casually.  
  
"Yeah, yeah..."  
  
She said. Before anything else could happen, That Man was behind Raven and I-No, placing a hand on their shoulders. The two servants looked up at him in surprise.  
  
"Master!"  
  
They both said in surprise. That Man tilted his head slightly to look at them.  
  
"Raven, I-No...take a walk. Now."  
  
He ordered them firmly, leaving no room for argument. The two disappeared and now it was just That Man, Justice, and Dizzy.  
  
"You know I can't let you two escape. If you are to both meet Sol Badguy, it will be a disaster. The world will crumble beneath their feet if he is not ready."  
  
That Man said. Justice growled deep in her throat.  
  
"Stop speaking in riddles all the time, you bastard! Would it hurt you to give one straight answer for once?"  
  
Justice said, irritated. That Man sighed.  
  
"Forgive me...Justice, Dizzy...You will go no further."  
  
That Man said.  
  
"Even if that's the case, I won't let us give up without trying!"  
  
Dizzy said, her resolve strong. Justice nodded.  
  
"I second that."  
  
Justice said as she concentrated. Her battle armor began forming around her body. That Man sighed again.  
  
'How stubborn...like mother, like daughter, I suppose...it is too bad they can't listen to reason. Their will and determination is strong...Sol Badguy, if you were here now, I'm sure you would be proud, to know you had a loving wife and child who want to be with you. Frederick...I'm sorry I could never be there for you and your mother...I took both of you for granted...what a fool I was...but I hope...by saving the world...I can make amends for the sins I have committed.'  
  
-...To Be Continued...-  
  
Note: All I can say was this chapter came out a lot longer than I originally anticipated. Not much action going on right now of course, since the main plot took over. Oh well...I just wish I had my own computer to work with. It gets annoying when my friend's younger siblings are always hovering around me while I'm trying to type something up. I'm sure we've all had a time when it wasn't our own computer we were working with. Anyway, hopefully this chapter came out okay despite many of the confusing random topics I'm sure it brought up (heck even I was getting confused, and I wrote it...). Well, See Ya. 


	6. A Lot Of Unwanted Problems

Chapter 6

Written By Illuminet

Disclaimer: Refer to the first chapter to view it.

"..."-Indicate Speech

'...'-Indicate Thought

:::xXx:::

[Preface]

Justice...

Justine Badguy was the soon to be betrothed to Frederick Mercury II. It could almost be said that it was destiny that played a hand in their meeting of each other. Frederick came from a prosperous family thanks to the efforts of his scientist father, Frederick Mercury. The ties between father and son began to slip away from each others grasps each year with the passing of Frederick II's mother. While Frederick II's father continued to strive on the path of knowledge as a scientist, Frederick II interests grew into helping the injured and the sick. He soon strived to become a doctor at around the age of eighteen and fulfilled his wish at the twenty three after having been in the shadow as a doctor's aid for five years.

Justine's life was much less prosperous in comparison to Frederick II's. Coming from a somewhat poor family, Justine's mother had grown very ill since giving birth to Justine. Her father had shortly passed away, killed while walking across a street and getting ran over by a car driven by some unknown drunkard. This meant that it was all up to Justine's mother to raise her child alone, yet her own state was growing steadily worse and worse with each passing day. Without her husband's support, Justine's mother was soon unable to keep paying for both the house and her child. Justine lost her home when she was only thirteen. Two years she and her mother had to survive on the back streets and alleys, with little food or shelter.

When Justine was fifteen, her mother's sickness had gotten so bad she could barely even stand or move. One hope remained in Justine. Frederick Mercury II at this time had become well known as a doctor for his compassionate demeanor, his attentive skills, and his thoroughness. Even though he had only been a doctor for two years, he earned great respect amongst both his colleagues and patients alike. Frederick and Justine lived far apart from each other, but Justine was determined to meet with him and get her mother cured. She practically had to carry her mother on her back in order to get to her destination.

Even with all her efforts and succeeding at getting all the way to the hospital Frederick II worked at, Justine was not able to prevent her mother's passing in the waiting room. Hearing about the child's tragic tale, Frederick decided to take it upon himself to adopt Justine, now that she had no guardian to look after her. He did not feel it would be a big deal for him at the time, considering he was ten years Justine's senior which made him old enough to pass off as a father figure to her.

Because of his own fortune, Frederick II was able to provide Justine with everything she could ever want in life.Yet Justine began to yearn for something more as she slowly grew into adulthood. Unfortunately, with his profession as a doctor, Frederick II was rarely home and so he would never guess of the secret feelings Justine began to harbor for him. Since she had learned that she was beginning to see Frederick II in a new light (she was eighteen by this time.), whenever Frederick II arrived home at a reasonable hour and wasn't feeling sleepy (which he tended to be often after working almost twenty four hour shifts at the hospital.) she would try to show him subtle signs of her growing affection towards him. Being the hopelessly naive person that he was despite his age, Frederick II missed all the signs easily.

Justine had waited patiently for two more years in hopes that she could make Frederick II understand her feelings, yet Frederick II remained naive up to the point where it was starting to annoy Justine to no end. Once her patience finally waned to the end at last, Justine stormed into the hospital late at night when she knew Frederick II would be nearing the end of his shift. Although greatly embarrassed, once Justine found Frederick II she practically roared her feelings out to him for just about everyone in the hospital to hear. Needless to say, Frederick II got the point of what she was she had been doing the past two years. After that little incident, Frederick II decided he would give Justine a chance to see if he really felt the same way. Now that he fully understood the circumstances behind Justine's (what he thought at the time.) odd behavior, he soon realized his own feelings to be the same as her's. The two decided to wait a little bit longer before becoming engaged.

While Frederick II was at the age of thirty three and Justine at the age of twenty three, Frederick II proposed to Justine and a wedding date had been planned. Unfortunately, things would not go as planned for the two lovers. Although he was hardly in contact with his father at all at around this time, Frederick II still sent an invitation of the wedding date to Frederick. While on their way to the small chapel where the wedding was to be held, both Frederick II and Justine went missing. It was a few weeks ago since they were reported missing that police had discovered the location of a destroyed car that had toppled down a steep cliff on the way to the chapel. The car was identified as belonging to Frederick II, and was cleverly hidden to avoid detection. Neither body had been found within the remains of the vehicle.

Believing a motive of murder, police conducted a wide spread investigation. Nothing of note came up for the police and the investigation was grinded to a halt. On the same day as the wedding of Frederick II and Justine, Frederick began leading and participating in the mysterious Gear Project which would last for several years. The project was so secret and secure, that almost no one, not even in the government knew of it's true purpose until the scientists working within the Gear Project produced their first complete slave like Gear, code named as Type 001 who, outside her armor, bore a striking resemblance to the Human Justine, who was reported missing several years earlier..

Once Type 001 regained the free will she had lost when becoming a Gear, she used her Command Ability she was programed with in order to give other Gears made after her their own free will. Just as she was the first complete Gear made, she was also the first one to be given a name by her fellow Gears. Justice's life revolved around her own name. She wanted her own kind to be treated as equals to their Human creators, yet with the Humans fear came war, a ditch effort to suppress the growing number of Gears that had been produced and blessed with free will by Justice.

Although currently revived by her own creator after her death that ended the war between the Humans and the Gears, Justice has regained the memories of her former life that were suppressed by That Man because of the capture of her daughter, Dizzy. Now the two plan to escape the clutches of That Man, yet if they are successful in reaching the Proto-type Gear, Sol Badguy, could they really be damning the world as That Man said...?

:::xXx:::

[Main Story]

Unknown...

"Justice...you forget that I fashioned that armor for you. Regardless of how its similar to your old armor, you won't be able to use it if I don't want you to."

That Man said. Justice nodded.

"I know that. Let's just say I could care less."

Justice said adamantly. That Man sighed.

"You know you could even be turned against your own daughter as well if I so ordered it. Give up this foolishness and forget about seeing your husband. He's a different person now, anyway."

That Man said. Justice shook her head.

"Piss off. Dizzy approves of whatever he has become and so will I. I won't let you take Dizzy from us again."

Justice said in a low, serious voice.

"This is so like you, Justice...never listening to reason. I've had enough of this conversation. If you won't submit in a peaceful manner than I'll make you and your daughter submit to me the hard way."

That Man said.

"You should have just done that in the first place!"

Dizzy said, getting her two cents in on the conversation. The two prepared to do battle with That Man, despite the hopelessness of the situation. That Man jumped to the ground level where Justice and Dizzy were. Not wasting any time, mother and daughter plunged into the attack. The came to either side of That Man, but with a wave of his arm he knocked the two back before they could get out an attack on him. Both Justice and Dizzy were sent flying back but recovered quickly and went for a long range approach instead. Dizzy started off by sending a trail of flames in That Man's direction as a distraction. Once That Man was hit and sent airborne, Justice transformed her metal arm into a sword and slashed out horizontally, sending a beam of energy lancing out from the attack to strike That Man higher up still. While he was still in a daze, Dizzy flew up after him. She struck him hard with her tail, then lashed out with her wings as they turned into axe shaped blades that cut into his cloak. She struck him as much as she could with her wings, but stopped when she realized something. Once Dizzy landed on the ground, That Man's cloak floated down gently.

"Mother, he's gone! There's no one there!"

Dizzy shouted as she grabbed the empty cloak. Justice looked around, seeing the illusion of the Stairway to the Heavens vanish and become an ordinary room.

"Damn it! Where are you?!"

Justice said as she looked about frantically.

"I'd be more concerned about what your about to do to your own child, Justice."

That Man's voice sounded from all around the room, so it couldn't be pinpointed. The safety clips on top of Justice's shoulder armor opened without her willing them to. Justice tried to bring her arms up so she could close them herself but realized she couldn't move them.

"DIZZY!!"

Justice yelled in a panicked voice. Dizzy turned towards Justice's direction as large amounts of concentrated energy began gathering within the compartments of her shoulders.

"Run...I can't control it..."

Justice said weakly.

"And you said you could care less...I can see how far from the truth that statement was."

That Man's voice sounded in the room again. Dizzy looked angrily towards the ceiling.

"Leave her alone!"

Dizzy ordered sternly. That Man chuckled.

"Unfortunately, I can't do that. Justice doesn't need to worry, though. You'll survive her attack, Dizzy. You are a Gear after all."

That Man said. Dizzy looked back towards Justice. With a look of determination, Dizzy rushed over to Justice.

"No, Dizzy...DON'T!!"

Justice screamed, but Dizzy didn't listen. Dizzy tackled her mother to the ground, straddling the armored Gear as the Gamma Ray was about to be released. Dizzy quickly brought her hands over the shoulder clips and slammed them down on Justice's shoulders, successfully halting the attack from being set loose. Both mother and daughter let out heaving breaths of relief.

"That was a little too close for comfort..."

Dizzy said. Justice nodded.

"A little too close for comfort indeed."

Justice agreed. A looming shadow went over Dizzy.

"Dizzy, look out!"

Justice warned. Dizzy turned around just in time to bring up her arms and defend against That Man's fist. The force behind the attack sent Dizzy reeling back. Justice got up quickly, her hands transforming into talons as she thrust them forward, intent on impaling them in That Man's throat. His hands came up to grasp her's while they were just centimeters from hitting their mark.

"I'm growing tired of this. Give up peacefully and I won't have to make you do something else you'll regret, Justice."

That Man said. If he could see through her armor, That Man would see Justice smirking. She pulled back suddenly, bringing That Man with her. A pillar of ice jutted up from the ground, striking That Man hard in the chin. While That Man was dazed, Justice spun in a circle, whipping out with her tail to strike That Man hard in the face and sent him off his feet. That Man lay still on the ground. He got up slowly, but was pinned down by the neck by a massive crab like arm that Dizzy's arm formed into.

"I'd like to see you get out of this!"

Dizzy taunted. That Man shrugged.

"And so you shall, dear child..."

That Man said. His cloaked figure slipped right out of Dizzy's grasp.

"Damn, not this trick again!"

Dizzy said in frustration.

"Enough of these games..."

That Man said in a tired voice. Dizzy lashed out with her tail, which had transformed into a worm like creature. That Man evaded the biting appendage easily and stuck Dizzy very forcefully in the back of the neck, sending the young Gear in unconsciousness. That Man then turned to Justice.

"Your all alone now, Justice. It's time to be put to sleep."

That man stated with a snap of his fingers. Justice fell to her knees, her armor beginning to disappear, piece by piece. Justice could feel her creator's control taking over, but before it was complete, her lips showed a faint smirk.

"You should have dealt with me quicker. Freddie's already being informed of our location as we speak. So what if you knock me out now, he'll have the coordinates to track me and Dizzy down."

With that said, Justice no longer fought against That Man's control and fell to the floor unconscious. That Man scowled within the darkness of his cloak.

"Damn...I should have not recklessly decided to fight them. Now that he has the coordinates...no, wait...I might be able to use the very information against him."

That Man said to himself. He contacted Raven telepathically.

'Raven, the Proto-type may know where we reside. If he decides to head towards this location, have him assassinated.'

That Man ordered. Raven's voice soon came within That Man's head.

'Why assassinated, my liege? I thought you said we needed him alive...?'

Raven said.

'Don't be so naive, Raven. The Proto-type is too powerful to be killed. He'll become frustrated with the search knowing I'm one step ahead of him and placing so many obstacles in his path. We need to prolong his suffering for as long as possible, understand?'

That Man explained.

'Very well. It will be done.'

Raven said. That Man laughed.

"Good. Things are working better than I originally anticipated."

:::xXx:::

Baiken's Place

Sol opened his eyes. He heard something within the depths of his brain. A distress signal. Sol sat up,

remembering that he was at Baiken's house. It was in the middle of the night.

'Justice...!'

Sol thought. Information from a distant place poured into his head. In his mind he saw the fight

between That Man, Justice and Dizzy through Justice's eyes.

'That fucking bastard...so he's gone to that place has he...'

Sol thought, turning his head slightly to glimpse at the weapon of the Outrage set bestowed upon

him by Ky.

)))Flash Back(((

"I'll take this one."

Sol said to Ky.

"The Fire Seal? Your sure?"

Ky asked. Sol nodded as he picked up the one handed weapon in his left hand.

"During the Crusades, a Knight used this weapon to battle with me. I always thought this was a cool

looking Outrage ever since I saw it in battle."

Sol said. Ky nodded.

"Very well then, suit yourself."

)))Flash Back(((

'Hope I can use you well, Outrage. Well, I better get going. I'm sure if I go by myself, it won't be some traitorous act against the boy that'll cause my ass to get roasted like a chicken."

Sol thought to himself. He rested the blade on his right shoulder. He slunk out of the house soundlessly.

'I don't care if the boy does want to work together, it's my family so I should be the one to rescue them.'

Sol nodded to himself, resolve burning in his eyes. There was no way he would be stopped, knowing Justice was for the time being free and Dizzy was still safe. He rushed away from Baiken's house as quickly and stealthily as possible. He didn't really have to worry too much about the public since Baiken lived very far away from others. The only person who could probably detect him if he made a wrong move in his getaway was Testament.

"Hello there again, Sol."

A familiar voice called out. Sol sighed.

'Damn it. I just know Testament heard that.'

Sol wanted to break Faust's neck for coming on by and talking when he did. Usually Faust came around at good occasions. Unfortunately, this wasn't one of them. The doctor being mentioned floated down to the ground on his trusty umbrella.

"How's it hanging?"

Faust asked in a cheerful manner. Sol gritted his teeth together in annoyance.

"Damn it. Why do you have to be here?"

Sol asked in an irritated manner. Faust stared more closely at Sol.

"Those eyes...that ambition...your heading out to battle, aren't you Sol?"

Faust asked seriously, surprising Sol, who thought the good doctor didn't have a serious bone in his body.

"And who are you heading out to battle with? The creator?"

Testament asked, coming up from the ground. Sol sighed. So much for wanting to save Dizzy and Justice by his own strength. Testament, Sol felt, had a right to be here because Dizzy was his girlfriend after all. Faust was another case.

"Look, Justice's has broken free from the control of That Man briefly. She was able to give me information on where she and Dizzy are located."

Sol told Testament. Testament looked surprised briefly before his expression went neutral again.

"We should get the others, but I too desire to rescue Dizzy by myself. I'll go with you then, Sol. Let's get this over with so our lives can be brought back to normal."

Testament said. Sol nodded.

"No use in arguing when your just going to follow me anyway."

Sol said.

"I'll go with you two as well."

Faust volunteered. Sol shook his head to this.

"Hey, it's a doctor's job to cure, not injure. Leave this to the professionals."

Sol said seriously, but Faust declined to do so.

"You speak the truth, but don't think I'll hinder you at all. I can hold my own well in a fight."

Faust said, using that same serious tone. Sol shrugged. That was fair, as long as Faust didn't waste time, Sol could tolerate him.

"Where do we go?"

Testament asked. Sol turned towards him.

"I'm pretty sure its America we're headed to...now all we have to do is figure out a way to get their from Zepp without me being seen by the public, or things could get messy."

Sol said. Testament brought his hand to his chin in thought.

"Hm...The airport is out of the question. They'd never let you on. I don't suppose you have the ability to travel underground as a mass of liquid, do you?"

Testament asked. Sol shook his head.

"If I may be so bold...I may have a solution to our predicament. Wait here."

Faust said, pulling a piece of green cloth from his doctor hand bag. By some unexplainable means, Faust's tall, lanky frame disappeared under the cloth when he put in over his head.

"What the fuck...?"

Sol muttered as he looked at the discarded piece of cloth on the ground.

"An interesting trick, but I don't see how it will help..."

Testament began, when he was suddenly hit in the face and knocked to the ground by an opening door that appeared out of nowhere.

"Come on in."

Faust said. Sol and Testament looked warily at the door.

"What kind of trick is this?"

Testament asked as he got up off the ground.

"Since Sol knows where to go, all he needs to do is think of the exact location he wants to end up and viola! Just open the door at the other side and were there."

Faust explained. Sol whistled loudly.

"Wow, that's one hell of a door."

He said. Deciding to trust the doctor, both Gears went through the door, finding themselves in what looked like a doctor's office.

"Okay, so let me get this straight. All I have to do is envision the place I want to go and I'll be there, right?"

Sol asked. Faust nodded.

"Okay...here goes."

Sol said slowly, closing his eyes and began envisioning the room he saw Justice and Dizzy fighting That Man. Sol opened his eyes. Sol opened the door and stepped through it.

"What the fuck? Hey, baldy, were still in the same place as we started out when you first came here. What gives?"

Sol asked angrily. He had really hoped he could have saved Justice and Dizzy with Faust's technique, but it ended up not working. Faust scratched the back of his paper bagged head in thought before his fingers snapped in realization.

"That's it! The place you must be trying to locate most likely has a distortion field that prevents dimensional forces from going within the location. As long as that field is up, dimensional space openings like my technique won't allow us to go to where we'll need to and just send us back to where the dimension was first opened. Whoever your trying to get to is pretty darn clever."

Faust said. Testament nodded.

"The creator has thought of everything to keep others out. Sol, couldn't we head to an area close by? You sounded so certain of where Justice and Dizzy are being held. If we are able to get close to where they are held, we could just walk through the back door of wherever they are."

Testament suggested. Sol shook his head.

"No, that won't work..."

Sol said lowly.

"Why not?"

Faust asked. Sol shook his head.

"That place can't be accessed by normal means..."

Sol said, bringing his hand to rub his eyes. He seemed to be thinking hard about something.

"Where is it exactly? You said to head to America. Where exactly to though?"

Testament asked.

"It's an area under the lab I was born in...that's right, it does have a distortion field that prevents access to anyone outside of it...but there's an opening somewhere...damn it, where was it?"

Sol said, talking more to himself then his companions.

'Damn...that was so long ago, but all Gears are given a photographic memory, so I should be able to remember...wait that's it!'

Sol snapped his finger.

"Its come back to me. Hey Doc open your door, I know exactly where to go now."

:::xXx:::

Baiken's Place

"Hey, where's Sol?"

Johnny asked. He had gotten up to go to the bathroom, passing by the room Sol had been in. The shoji door had been left open and Johnny found Sol's futon without Sol in it and no Fire Seal. He had just informed Ky, who was shaking his head in disbelief.

"Damn. So much for cooperation."

Ky said with a sigh.

"Testament's gone as well."

Anji informed.

"Hm...what does that mean? If both of our Gear allies are gone...?"

Chipp said as he walked in on the conversation.

"Damn Gears. I'll bet they knew where That Man was hiding all along. We won't be able to track them either. Unless..."

Baiken said. Ky nodded.

"Sol's only weapon is the Fire Seal Outrage. If we track down Fire Seal, chances are we'll find Sol. Him and Testament."

Ky said knowingly. Baiken nodded.

"Maybe we should just leave them be, dad. They seem so determined to save Dizzy by there own power, you know?"

Bridget said, walking into the room.

"Bridget, when did you wake up? You should be in bed."

Ky said in surprise. He had hoped his family wouldn't get involved.

"Sorry, dad. But we are only a few rooms down from this one., and you guys were talking so loud and..."

Bridget apologized sheepishly.

"So what's our plan of action, dear? Do we just follow Mr. Badguy or do we wait and do nothing?"

Jam asked as she got into the conversation. Ky looked at her in surprise.

"Whoa, you two aren't getting involved in this in any form what so ever. Please leave this matter to me and me alone."

Ky said. Jam frowned at her husband's choice of words.

"Don't make me do it darling, because I will."

Jam warned him. Ky's face fell a bit.

"He still seems hesitant, mom. Should we go for a double dose?"

Bridget asked as he turned to Jam. Ky's eyes widened.

"Okay, okay, when you two put it that way, I give up. Please don't give me the...Look."

Ky said desperately. Jam and Bridget gave a high five for each other. Chipp brought his head closer to Anji's.

"His wife and child got him wrapped aroung their fingers."

Chipp whispered. Anji nodded.

"I agree."

{...To Be Continued...}

Note: Somewhat of an early update to commemorate having finally gotten a new computer. Not much going on in this chapter, but things will pick up eventually. I'm having to get used to using Word Perfect over both Microsoft Works and Word so please just bare with the slowness of these last couple of chapters I've written.


	7. Well, Here Goes Nothing

Chapter 7

Written By Illuminet

Disclaimer: Refer to the first chapter to view it.

"..."-Indicate Speech

'...'-Indicate Thought

:::xXx:::

[Preface]

Raven...

One of the right hand servants of That Man. Everything about him is mysterious. All that can really be speculated about him is that his life was saved by That Man, and so, he has given both body and soul to his savior as thanks. Unlike I-No, who also works directly under That Man like he does, Raven follows his orders diligently and almost without question.

Raven apparently wields knowledge on how to maintain formally downed Gears, a skill most likely taught to him by That Man himself. Such is the case when he was put in charge of watching over Justice. Like Axl Low, Raven used to experience time slips until he was able to learn how to control it. Although he hardly goes into physical battle, it is easy to see that Raven commands enormous power, but holds it back well.

Raven has recently been doubting some of the assignments given to him by That Man, especially concerning Sol Badguy's powers. Raven believes only in what he has seen physically. He does not believe that Sol wields enough power to save the world as That Man predicts, but as long as his loyalty stands, he will not do any unnecessary harm to Sol unless ordered to.

:::xXx:::

[Main Story]

Abandoned Lab ruins, remains of Gear Project factory

"Wow, this place has seen better days, I'm sure."

Faust said as he looked around the fallen structure Sol had scouted about the ground, looking for something.

"So this is where the Americans built their Gears? I wonder what happened to it..."

Testament said. He could only guess at how big the structure was when it was standing normally. Sol looked up from his searching briefly.

"Me and Justice wrecked havoc on this place once she gained her free will along with me and we escaped. I had originally been left incomplete around here, and that's the worst pain a Gear can feel...when it's not complete. That's why I wanted to complete myself, to escape from the horrific pain that was always with me."

Sol explained. Sol went back to his searching until he found what he was looking for.

"Find it?"

Faust asked. Sol only nodded. Using the Fire Seal's magic, Sol created a large explosion of fire that cleared a path through all the debris. Testament and Faust looked at Sol in surprise.

"I think that may have been a little overboard..."

Testament stated. Sol nodded wide eyed.

"Shit, this thing really is powerful. I guess in the hands of a Gear, the magic is amplified on an amazing level."

Sol said. The trap door he originally meant to blow off it's hinges with the explosive flames produced by the Fire Seal ended up making most of the ground collapse and leave a rather large hole where the tunnel used to be. The three peered down the large hole.

"Damn, how far will this lead us if we jump?"

Testament asked. Sol shook his head.

"Can't remember, but we can't jump because then we'll all hit the force field. It keeps almost anything physical out. Although there are about eight hundred or so trap doors that lead to the underground facility, this is the only one with the security locks that will halt power to the generator and in turn remove the force field. The thing that bothers me is that, considering the ground collapsed, it took the elevator with it, and so we can't head down to the locks and shut them off normally."

Sol explained. Testament eyed the other Gear strangely, noting that his speech patterns tended to change every so often.

:::xXx:::

Underground secret lab a.k.a Unknown (formally, anyway...)

"I have to admit that door trick of yours definitely has some very good uses."

Testament praised Faust. With Sol's help, the door could be opened so that it pinpointed the security locks location. After that, it was all a matter of turning the locks off. Faust could use his technique to teleport the three into the secret lab where That Man went into hiding from the rest of the world.

"Finally. Now I just have to kill that fucking bastard, get Dizzy and Justice and burn this place into a pile of shit."

Sol said excitedly as he gripped the Fire Seal tightly.

"Justice and Dizzy were almost successful in getting out of the lab. It's really too bad they were unsuccessful in their attempt."

Faust said. Testament nodded.

"Indeed. Still, even if they did make it out, they couldn't have removed the force field, right?"

Testament said as he turned to Sol.

"If they found the controls on the outside of the lab, then yeah, they would...hm?"

Sol stopped himself and began to look around the room.

"You two feel something?"

Sol asked quickly.

"I'm detecting a Human presence somewhere around here. Yet, I can't see one. Do you think it's the man named Raven, or the woman called I-No?"

Testament said. Sol shook his head, turning towards Testament and Faust.

"No, someone else..."

Sol said. Testament and Faust saw something coming from behind Sol. It was entirely black, looking almost like a liquid.

"Sol, behind you!"

Faust warned. Sol whirled around with tremendous speed, bringing the Fire Seal up in a defensive posture as the large black goo monster attacked with a ramming strike, sending Sol staggering back from the force of the blow.

"What kind of trick is this, your shadow is attacking you!"

Faust declared with a surprised tone. Sol and Testament looked at the large black beast with narrowed eyes.

"A forbidden weapon of magic by the Humans...the Eddie!"

Testament said. Sol grunted.

"Damn. I thought all those guys got killed in the war."

Sol muttered.

"I admit, a great many of these living weapons to combat the Gears were, but there are those like me who can summon them by forbidden rite. Why do you think it's called forbidden magic?"

The creature said in a deep voice. It's form became humanoid like, although the head looked almost like a bird. Soon the black substance lowered, revealing a man with blonde hair and slightly tanned skin. Cloth was held in place over his eyes by a leather strap that went all around his head. He wore a black a-shirt tucked into black combat pants and boots.

"So...you sacrificed your sight in order to obtain the parasite that would turn shadows into weapons."

Sol said softly. The man bowed in the direction of the three.

"That's right. Quite perceptive, aren't we, Proto-type? Since I know you three, it's only fair you know who I am. They call me Zato."

Zato introduced as he rose back to his full height. He held out his left hand.

"And the man here is Venom."

Zato said as a man with dark skin and long white hair marked with a blue ceremonial eye motif drawn in his hair, which covered most of his face, save for one piercing blue eye. The man dressed in a white suit, looking like a bouncer or something similar to it. In his hand was a blue case with a similar eye motif engraved in the surface.

"And the woman, Millia Rage."

Zato said as he lifted his right arm. A pale skinned woman entered, her blond hair cut short, a blue head band to keep her hair out of her eyes. She wore a slightly baggy white jump suit on her slender frame.

"So this is the famous trio of the Assassin's Guild."

Faust said. Sol and Testament looked up to the doctor as came to stand at his full height rather than remain hunched down.

"You know these crazy assholes?"

Sol asked. Faust nodded.

"Yes. Not much, but I hear their very skilled. Many members of the Assassin Guild use the forbidden magic in order to gain immense power. This allows them to assassinate any kind of target, weather Human, Gear, or otherwise."

Faust said.

"Shit, we ain't got time for this. Whoever you three are, I suggest you haul your asses out of here if you want to live."

Sol threatened the Assassins. Zato chuckled.

"Unfortunately that can't be done, Proto-type. Killing you and your companions is the only way we can get payed, so there's no use in trying to talk us out of this."

Zato said. Sol gritted his teeth together in annoyance.

"Listen, fucker, you got two choices. One, you leave here peacefully and live. Two, you stay here to fight and I kill you all. Ether way, your asses aren't getting payed."

Sol stated as he brought the Fire Seal his side, letting it gently tap his leg. He brought his free hand to his side, putting a thumb in his pocket while the rest of his hand rested by his side.

"Such arrogance. You'll find us quite difficult to kill, I assure you."

Zato said. Sol scowled.

"And I assure you'll find it very painful once I shove this blade up your ass and give you a sun burn to your organs, bitch."

Sol said smugly, bringing his right hand to the side of his neck and cracking it. Testament brought out a red scythe out of nowhere. As for Faust, by some weird event, he put a hand in his bag, grabbing the biggest scalpel Sol had ever seen.

"How the fuck did you get that thing in you bag in the first place? No never mind, I'd rather not know. Let's just get this over with."

Sol said. Zato's shadow swirled about his feet. Venom opened the case, releasing it quickly as he grabbed to small poles he screwed together to make a pool stick. Millia's hair extended, becoming very long. The combatants readied themselves for battle.

:::xXx:::

On the way to abandoned Lab ruins

Ky and the others were heading towards their location via another limo. The sirens were blaring as the driver was speeding through every street and corner to reach the destination Ky and the rest needed to go.

"When do we get there? I want in on some of the action too."

Baiken grumbled. To her left were seated Anji and Chipp, and to her right, was May. Across from them were Johnny and Ky, who naturally sat in between Jam and Bridget. He was looking at his laptop, which pinpointed the Fire Seal Outrage's location.

"We're almost at our destination."

Ky declared.

"Where exactly are we headed to, officer?"

Anji asked politely. He had the Stopping Fans Outrage folded in his hands. As with Sol, Anji was also lented one.

"My sources say that the location of the Fire Seal is at the old laboratory where Gears were first created and manufactured to be bidded on by the richest person. Apparently there must be some kind of facility underground because that's where Fire Seal is emanating from, below ground level over there."

Ky said.

"That would be the least likely way to be found by ending up in the place it all began. How ironic."

Bridget said. Ky nodded.

:::xXx:::

Abandoned Lab Ruins

"Looks like Sol made quite a mess in here..."

Ky said as he looked down the large hole in the floor of the former private facility.

"How do we get down there? The railings on the side tell me an elevator should be here, but there isn't one."

Johnny commented. Baiken narrowed her eyes.

"Damn it. Those two really are going to steal all the fun."

Baiken said.

"Everyone, I just might have an idea."

Bridget said. Everyone turned to him.

:::xXx:::

On the way down to the secret lab...

"Are you really sure this thing will hold us?"

May asked nervously. They were unknowingly about half way down to the lab area, using Bridget's yo-yo to do it. Bridget had made his yo-yo transform into a giant teddy bear, which he named Roger, and instructed it to hold the line steady and lower the team down to the large shaft.

"Don't sweat it, May. Roger is very strong and the string has a good two thousand pound resistence to it. So it can easily hold everyone's weight along with their weapons."

Bridget said reassuringly to the young girl. May was still a bit doubtful, however.

"I hope your right."

She said to him.

"I'm just glad Potemkin's not with us. The yo-yo's string would definitely snap under his weight."

Johnny said.

:::xXx:::

While Ky and the others are climbing down...

The battle began. Sol, Testament, and Faust charged at the three assassins just as they charged at them. Once in striking distance, Sol lashed out with a quick sweep of his blade which was aimed at Zato, but the man brought his arm up to lift a wall of shadow to guard against the attack. Zato countered successfully by turning his arm into a small shark that bit Sol's forearm and rammed the Gear back. Venom used magic to transform Testament into an oversized white pool ball and quickly stuck it with his stick, sending Testament flying into Sol. Faust struck out with his scalpel, intent on impaling Millia, but the woman rolled under the attack, and once up close, struck Faust hard with a whip like motion of her hair that sent Faust colliding with his other two companions. The three got up unsteadily.

"Shit, these three are tougher then they look."

Sol said with a grunt.

"I suggest we hold back less now. Agreed?"

Testament asked as he also rose, leaning on his scythe for support. Faust nodded.

"I do."

Before they could get ready for another attack, Zato lifted both arms up in the air, making a large black beast head rise up under the three and devour them. Sol was the first to burst free from the beast head at surprising speed. He reeled his arm back before delivering a crushing hilt strike directly at Zato's forehead. The man was sent flying from the impact in surprise.

"Let's see if I can do it too. Volcanic Viper!"

Sol shouted as he saw Zato rebound off the wall. Sol jumped towards him, slashing upward with a heated Fire Seal that made Zato's body go ablaze.

"Master Zato!"

Venom shouted. Before he could reach his leader, however, Faust was right in front of him.

"Let him down, Sol!"

Faust announced. Sol obliged once he was at the peak of his jump along with Zato. Sol twisted in the air, sending his foot downward to strike Zato down to Faust's location. Having caught Venom by surprise and Zato in a daze from Sol's onslaught, Faust impaled his long scalpel in the ground, before moving on it's flexible shaft at amazing speed, catching the two assassins in a whirlwind of blows as he sprang back and forth along his scalpel. Millia interrupted Faust's attack, as she formed her hair into a large blade that she used to surf along the ground, striking Faust's scalpel and making the doctor trip in from his momentum. Before Millia could retaliate against Faust, Testament came swiftly from under her in a mass of blood that took her off her feet. Faust recovered, jump over Testament and stuck Millia hard with his body as it spun so fast it looked like a miniature tornado

"Get out of the way, doc."

Faust heard Sol say. Faust barely had time to move as Sol went ripping past him with a shield of flame held in front of him.

"Tyrant Rave!"

Sol rammed into Millia with enough force to send her into another wall engulfed in flames. The woman rebounded off the wall muck like Zato did. Sol had just touched ground and was prepared to attack her again.

"Invite Hell!"

With a wave of his arm, Zato sent a shadow drill under Sol's location, tripping the Gear's feet from under him. Millia recovered in mid air, and seized the opportunity to retaliate against Sol. Transforming her hair into large wings, Millia dove down on Sol, sending him reeling back from the force of the blow. Faust was there to catch Sol.

"Dark Angel!"

Both Sol and Faust were bulldozed by a large violet energy sphere Venom shot their way. Zato covered his body with his shadow, letting his demon form sprout wings as he flew in their direction. Testament was quickly up in the air to swat Zato back down with a heavy downward swipe of his scythe, But was soon shot in the back by Venom who sent a barrage of energy cue balls at him. The two teams regrouped.

"Damn, you're a lot stronger than he says, Proto-type."

Zato said. Sol narrowed his eyes.

"Get the fuck out of my way with that shit. The longer I live, the more powerful I get. That's always how a Gear's powers keep increasing. With time."

Sol said.

"That's new information. That Man said you were incomplete, unable to have your power evolve and increase further like normal Gears."

Zato said.

'I guess he really doesn't know...'

Sol thought to himself.

'Either that or he has been lying to these Assassins and is just using them for cover.'

Testament's voice sounded within Sol.

'Maybe...'

Sol agreed. The more he thought about it more clearly the more it made sense. Sol wanted to kick his own ass for forgetting Raven's words. That Man only wanted Sol to suffer, not be killed.

"It doesn't matter...let's get this over with."

Sol said softly. He brought his right hand to his neck again to crack it. He charged again, no longer letting petty talks waste any more time like it already did. Testament and Faust followed, ready to commence battle again after the small breather. Sol lunged forward with his right arm engulfed in a large gauntlet of flames. Sol twisted his body, bringing back his right fist and releasing the flame in front of him as he his left hand brought the fire Seal up to slash at the projectile. The flames expanded, creating a shield of fire. Although the Assassins halted before they could connect with Sol's attack, Testament teleported behind them, slashing out with a large horizontal arc that pushed them into the raging inferno. Faust had scurried past the flames to launch the Assassin's upward, as he twirled through the air after them, making his normal sized hand transform into a giant sized one as he sent them free falling with a mighty chop. Before they touched ground however, Testament had set a trap in the form of a massive living tree that rose up and struck them, leaving them afloat as Sol roared, gathering power in the Fire Seal. Sol impaled the blade into the ground, making flames burst fiercely from the ground to strike his opponents in a rising explosion.

"Looks like they fell into unconsciousness. They really are tough to kill."

Testament commented. Sol nodded.

"Yeah. Justice and Dizzy take first priority now. Let's get moving."

He said, already heading for the exit. Testament and Faust soon followed. Almost right after they departed from the room, Ky and the others burst through the entrance.

"Hey who are those guys?"

Chipp asked, once he spotted Zato, Venom, and Millia all lying down face first unconscious. Ky inspected their bodies.

"Hey, these three are the main figure heads behind the Assassin's Guild. The police have bee searching tirelessly for these three. All of you go on ahead. Bridget, can you help me bind these three? I'll inform the American branch headquarters that we have these criminals and have them sent to a secure prison before following the rest of you."

Ky said. While the others went ahead, Bridget helped his father bind the Assassins with some extra yo-yo string.

"I wonder if they were hired to take out Sol and Testament?"

Ky said. Bridget shrugged.

"I'm not sure. Still, I'm glad we came here. This is the coolest vacation ever, dad!"

He said with a big grin plastered on his face.

{...To Be Continued...}

Note: Well, here's the seventh chapter. It's a bit short, but I think it came out alright. The U.S. release of Guilty Gear Isuka is going to be coming out in a couple of months. Is that cool or what? I hope it's as good as I hear it is. Anyway, that kind of got off topic. Hopfully readers will enjoy this chapter as well, so...See Ya.


	8. Getting To The Center Of Things

Chapter 8

Written By Illuminet

Disclaimer: Refer to the first chapter to view it.

"..."-Indicate Speech

'...'-Indicate Thought

:::xXx:::

-Preface-

I-No...

Like Raven, I-No is a close subordinate to That Man. A woman with unusual powers and a intense hatred of aging. She has decided to work loyally for That Man once he has given her eternal youth. Although she works closely with That Man along with Raven, That Man does not seem to command much cooperation overall with the woman as she tends to go overboard with her assignments when things don't go her way.

Although her entire past is a mystery to all, I-No has extensive powers of manipulation over the mind. If she desires to, she can make others forget their past, but the skill will only work when the victim is weaker then I-No herself. Besides that power, I-No also has the ability to travel through time, and was the one who taught Raven how to keep himself from time slipping against his will. This shows that her knowledge over time traveling is far greater than his own.

Other than her powers, little else is known about her, as was stated earlier. She hopes for a rematch against Sol Badguy, to give her a chance at testing her full strength against him. Yet everything is determined by him, and it's most likely he won't give her the time of day to fight her if he can avoid it and reach Justice, Dizzy, and above all else, That Man...

:::xXx:::

-Main Story-

Underground Lab, Sol's party

"I guess this is the way Dizzy took when she tried to escape with Justice."

Testament said, as he ran, or rather, hovered by Sol. Faust was behind them, crawling swiftly on his arms and legs, since the passage was too small to fit his nine foot three inch height.

"I wish this place was like that big room we fought the Assassins at. At least I could stand up."

Faust said.

"Well, that's what you get for being so damn tall, doc."

Sol said in a lazy drawl, a half done cigarette poking from between his lips. Despite his outward calmness, Sol was really in an anxious state. Although everything about him was at ease, it was the way he was running quickly with long strides that betrayed some of the inner chaos within him.

"There's the exit from this hall."

Testament stated as dim light came into their line of vision at the end of the maze like passage. The three stopped when they came to the next room. Sol looked around in slight awe.

"Holy shit..."

He said.

"I have a feeling Kiske would disagree with your use of words on that."

Testament said in the same awed tone of voice Sol used as he too looked around.

"What are all these tanks or whatever? Are those Gears inside them?"

Faust asked as he stood at full height. The three split up to look briefly at the tanks with Gears floating within them that lined the entire floor in a maze like fashion just like the halls.

"Hey, these Gears are numbered. Maybe Justice is amongst them."

Sol said, noticing the small plaques near the bottom of the tanks.

"Judging by the worn state of these inscriptions, these Gears must have been locked up for a long time..."

Faust said as he inspected some.

"Indeed. I guess these Gears were held on reserve for the Crusades, but were never awakened for use. How sad...hey Sol, come here and look at this!"

Testament said excitedly. Both Sol and Faust made their way through the winding passages amongst the circular tanks to find Testament at the end of a wall. There were no more tanks in the area filled with Gears, and held only some Gear limbs within. Sol came up besides Testament.

"This is...Justice's information."

Sol said as he looked at the engraved wall. Faust looked around.

"Where is she though?"

Faust asked. Sol looked at the wall before coming closer.

"Maybe there's a trick to this thing..."

Sol muttered as he placed his hand on the wall, only to find himself falling thorough it.

"Shit!"

Was all Sol got out as he fell on his face in surprise.

"It's an illusion..."

Testament said, as he walked through the wall. Sol got up, only to hear a deafening bang on the other side of the wall.

"Ouch! That hurt..."

Faust's voice came from the other side.

"Your going to have to crawl."

Testament said. Faust crawled into the room, rubbing his paper bag covered head with his hand.

"Damn confounded short passageways!"

Faust sputtered out. Sol and Testament looked about the small room, feeling against every nook and cranny to find some kind of access to lead further within. Faust went for the ceiling because of his reach. All results came up short.

"Damn this place. Besides the tank, there isn't much else here."

Testament stated. Sol groaned.

"Fuck this. We might as well just blow a hole somewhere."

Sol said, hefting Fire Seal up and preparing to impale it into one of the walls.

"Enough, Sol Badguy. If you want to go further come out the way you came in."

A voice said all around the room. Sol's muscles tensed.

"I know that voice...that asshole Raven."

Sol said with an angry drawl.

"Should we do as he said? It could be a trap of some sort."

Testament said, looking thoughtful.

"One way to find out."

Sol muttered. He nodded to Faust, who nodded back before making his way through the wall illusion, Testament following after him, and last was Sol.

:::xXx:::

Underground Lab, Room of Gears, Ky's party

"By the Heavenly Father...this place is creepy."

Ky said. It took him and Bridget a little time, but the two finally caught up with the others, who were currently looking around at the tanks.

"These are all Gears?"

Bridget asked. Ky nodded.

"It would appear so."

Ky said.

"Hm...I hate to say it, but this place really has some kind of sci-fi and horror type of look to it from right out of a movie. This is like the part where all these tanks open and the monsters try and kill the helpless heroes and heroines."

Anji said in a creepy voice as he appeared besides Bridget almost instantly. Bridget jumped ten feet in the air with fright.

"Damn! Don't sneak up on me like that saying those weird things. I'm too young to have a heart attack here."

Bridget said hotly, bonking Anji on the head with his yo-yo.

"Ow!"

Anji rubbed his head.

"That's what you get for spewing your movie knowledge crap."

Baiken said as she came into view from all the tanks, the rest of the party following behind her. As if on cue, the tanks liquid emptied and the tanks began opening with awakened Gears.

"Holy Zen! Anji, you dumb ass, why did you have to say that?"

Chipp said, miffed. He bonked Anji on the head with the flat of his ninja blade.

"Nice going, you just had to jynx us, didn't you?"

Johnny said, bonking Anji on the head with his cane / hidden sword.

"I second that."

Baiken said, bonking Anji on the head with her sheathed katana.

"I third."

Jam said, bonking Anji on the head with a high kick.

"Oh no..."

Anji muttered as a giant anchor was about to land on him, luckily though, he dodged by jumping back. Unluckily, the anchor fell forward, landing on his foot, which left Anji hopping about in pain as he cursed obscenities with great fervor.

"Oops...sorry about that. It's always fun until someone gets hurt."

May said nervously. Baiken looked at Anji in surprise.

"I didn't know he could swear like that. Guess he earns a notch on the manliness scale."

Baiken said.

"I don't like to spoil your fun but...WE"VE GOT A FIGHT HERE!!!"

Ky yelled. Everyone finally noticed the Gears where closing in dangerously.

"Oh yeah..."

Johnny said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

:::xXx:::

Abandoned Labs, Sky Terrace...?

"So the Gear King and his Gear Knight will try and win back the Gear Queen and her Gear Princess. How sickeningly sweet."

I-No said. She stood casually beside a serious looking Raven who had his arms crossed as he looked down at Sol and his party. Sol growled.

"Where's he hiding them?"

Sol asked, his tone threatening.

"Would you do anything to get to them? Can you even fight your own woman to get to your daughter if you had to?"

Raven asked calmly. Sol narrowed his eyes.

"I ain't letting that shit happen, asshole! I'll save both of them! Now where is he keeping them?"

Sol asked firmly. Raven shook his head.

"Do not worry. If you do somehow manage to win, the master will take you to your wife and daughter personally."

Raven said. Sol spat his nearly finished cigarette to the ground, stomping it out with his heel.

"Fine, I'm game. Let's get this over with."

Sol said.

'Let me and the doctor hold these two off. Please use that time to move on ahead and save Dizzy and Justice.'

Testament said.

'Alright, I'll leave it to you guys. Keep yourselves alive, got it?'

Sol said.

'Of course.'

Testament said. With that in mind, Sol sprinted towards Raven and I-No at surprising speed. The two servant were preparing to halt Sol from going any further, But Testament and Raven used their special teleporting techniques to catch their opponents off guard. Testament, as usual, rose from the ground to knock I-No off her feet, while Faust descended down upon Raven from the air, striking him with enough force to knock Raven on his back. Faust used his momentum to rebound off of Raven and spin backwards through the air.

"Damn."

Raven muttered. With a wave of his arm, the passage he was to guard began to close as the roof came down over it. Sol picked up speed, before sliding under the obstacle.

"Bastard got away...!"

I-No said through clenched teeth

"Looks like we weren't able to follow the master's orders. We could be punished for that, so I might as well vent my anger out on you two for your show of heroics."

Raven said darkly as he stood back up. Testament's body stiffened as his face contorted in rage.

"Bring it on."

:::xXx:::

Ky's Party...

"Ride The Lightning!"

Ky yelled, slashing out with his sword, sending a tremendous sphere of electricity in front of him as a few Gears came rushing towards him. They were sent back at their glass tanks, shattering the glass on impact. Since he was one out of two with an Outrage, he would most likely have to help kill the majority.

"Whoa, these guys are fast."

Ky heard Bridget say. He turned to see his son running away from a couple of Gears, Roger behind them and pounding the Gears in the back mercilessly but to no avail, as the Gears didn't even react to his attacks. The Gears were sent flying once Bridget went past Johnny. The man drew his long sword in a giant sweep motion which caught the Gears cleanly in the heads. Another Gear followed quickly after it's fallen comrades, but Johnny just side stepped, letting the Gear run past him. Johnny slashed out with his sword, cutting it down in the back.

"That's what you get if you mess with the best."

Johnny said with a smirk as the Gear fell. He saw Baiken rush at a swarm of Gears, slashing through them with her katana with such quick motions he could barely keep up. With a final sheathing of her blade the standing Gears toppled over each other. Johnny shrugged his shoulders.

"One of these days you got to show me how you pull that off while moving. I can only do it while I'm standing in place."

Johnny said as he took down another Gear. Baiken grunted.

"Heh, train harder and you'll get the hang of it someday. I'll still be able to beat you at it, of course."

Baiken said with a grin. Johnny sighed.

"There's a blow to my pride."

He said in a defeated tone.

"Less talking, more fighting!"

Jam said as she came soaring over Johnny's head, a Gear struck hard by her stiletto shoes. She landed between a bunch of stunned Gears and proceeded to beat them senseless with her four thousand year old Chinese history of martial arts with a blend of ki power amplifying her attacks. She moved about the Gears similarly to Baiken in speed, striking out with her fists or feet and making the sounds that would even make legendary martial artist Bruce Lee proud.

"Wow, Mrs. Kiske. So you use ki arts in your attacks, huh?"

Chipp said in impressed awe. She would be the second person he saw that used ki arts so well. He himself was taught ki as a means of amplifying his own ninja trained skills. In a trail of smoke, Chipp dashed through the enemy lines without being able to be detected.

'I have to admit...these Gears are very weak compared to the ones I've fought in the past...it could be that Gears who have just been awoken are still adjusting to their own bodies like new born children...'

Ky thought as he helped slay many of the Gears Johnny and Baiken took down. This was reminiscent of the past for Ky. Although many Knights defeated Gears, they could never really kill them until the use of the Outrage, Eddie shadow, or other magical weapons could be put to use on them. That was why Gears were so hard to defeat, despite mankind's superior numbers. Of course the Gears being fought now seemed very disoriented, and were fighting more like lifeless zombies compared to the proud battalion of Gears who fought in the Crusades.

"Hey Anji, you were given an Outrage too. Stop messing around and moving so slowly here. You're the one who jynxed us here. Take some responsibility for your actions."

Chipp said as he peered at Anji, who took down Gears with graceful but slow moving strikes of his Stopping Fans.

"Hey, I'm not the speed demon like you, my friend. Everything must be calm and precise, calculated and graceful..."

Anji began, but Chipp interrupted.

"Would you just hurry so these Gears stay down. Your slowness graceful...whatever is starting to piss me off. The fact that these Gears I've been repeatedly beating up over and over again isn't exactly helping to improve my mood here either."

Chipp said. Anji let out a sigh.

"Oh very well. I would look out if I were you."

Anji warned. Chipp complied by teleporting out if the way as Anji summoned a dragon with his magic and mounted the large beast as it tore through the Gears Chipp had been dealing with.

"There. Happy now?"

Anji said to the ninja. Chipp shook his head.

"Happy, no. Satisfied, yes."

Chipp said. Anji looked at him oddly.

"If your satisfied, aren't you happy?"

Anji asked him. Chipp shook his head again.

"Hey, I may feel satisfied with those Gears finally dead, but since my mood hasn't changed all that much, I don't think I'm happy."

Chipp said.

"If you two are done with your ever so sophisticated chat, we'd like to move ahead now."

Baiken said in an annoyed tone.

"Man, me and May didn't even get much of the action either."

Bridget said with a sigh.

"For once, I agree with you."

May said to him. Now it was Ky's turn to sigh.

"If you two had stopped your ranting and raving argument of who took down that one Gear down first and concentrated on beating the other Gears, you would have."

Ky informed them.

"But...!"

The two young ones protested. Johnny simply waved his finger and shook his head.

"Now, now you two. I have to agree with Ky on this one. Just get over it and lets be on our way."

He told them. Bridget and May sighed dejectedly before nodding. The party began moving again.

"I really got him first just so you know."

May said, cheerily. Bridget fumed.

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did not"

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Did too."

The two began their childish argument all over again.

"This is going to be a long trip..."

Ky said, rubbing his fore head since he was starting to get a headache.

:::xXx:::

"Damn. I guess your no longer holding back like before."

Testament grunted, guarding I-No's guitar. The battle between Testament, Faust and That Man's personal servants had been progressing smoothly at first, but began to get rougher as I-No and Raven stopped holding back more and more of their power. Testament found himself fighting to stay conscious and regenerate his injuries as I-No battled against him. His raven had saved him plenty of times from some of the woman's more devastating attacks. As for Faust, he seemed to be holding extremely well against Raven with his much longer reach and height advantage. The teleportation trick of his allowed him to confuse Raven considerably, but Raven also began to use teleporting techniques to get the slip on Faust on numerous occasions as well.

"These two aren't pushovers, I see."

Faust commented.

"I'm surprised a doctor would partake in violence. Still, I must admit you're a tough adversary for a mere ordinary Human."

Raven said, lashing out with an elbow blow that successfully connected with Faust's chest. The doctor staggered back, and Raven went for another attack, but Faust recovered quickly, jumping over the dark warrior. To Raven's surprise, the doctor seemed to take off his own head before throwing it down at him. To further rattle him, the paper bag exploded on impact, sending him to the ground with severe burns. Faust's head popped back out under his shirt with a new paper bag over it. Raven grunted as he stood, his burns regenerating.

"Oh, that's a shame...I was hoping to treat your injuries myself."

Faust said in mock sadness. Raven smirked.

"Sorry, I don't trust that scalpel of yours."

He commented. He quickly brought his fore arm up to guard a quick side swipe Faust made with his scalpel. Raven used this time to counter by teleporting right in front of Faust to deliver a crushing blow to Faust's stomach, only to find himself being slashed repeatedly as Faust managed to get the scalpel in front of him and spin it around.

"Damn...how do you do that?"

Raven asked in genuine curiosity. The doctor seemed to be able to read his moves easier and easier as the fight progressed. He had no doubt he could take the doctor down easily at full power, had the fight not been progressing so climactically. He was very entertained by the doctor's amazing and bizarre abilities to manipulate his body so easily in ways normal Humans could not. As for Testament, things were not going so well for him and his fight with I-No. I-No had a personality far different from Raven. When really engaged in a powerful fight, I-No did not act like laid back easy going woman that she seemed. Her more darker side was very sadistic and cruel, and she wasted no time on crushing the wills and morales of her opponents. And she wielded the power to back up her words, as Testament found out the hard way.

"You must really not want to see your girlfriend if your fighting this poorly. You should just stay still and let me kill you."

I-No said, her voice sounding rather satisfied as Testament leaned heavily against his scythe. She dashed towards his, bringing up a blade of red energy with the rising of her arm. Testament jumped back out of harms way, before coming forward with an heavy swing of his scythe that caught her right across the face and sent her through the air.

"Exe Beast!"

Testament summoned an underground cyclops like monster with a row of dangerously sharp teeth. I-No recovered in the air and dashed straight back for Testament. When she was close enough, he waved his hand out, letting a familiar red line slash through the air. I-No had already had too much momentum in her air dash to stop in time and was caught in Testament's blood web.

"Not this again."

I-No said in a frustrated tone. Testament didn't say a word as he jumped up, slashing up with his scythe to deal a hard strike to I-No's back. Once at the peak of his jump, Testament slammed the blunt end of his scythe against I-No's stomach, making her hit the ground with enough force to crack it. To an ordinary Human, the attack would be devastating, almost fatal, but I-No got up easily, shrugging off the pain.

"My, your going to have a long way to go before I feel your attacks unless you put your back into it."

I-No said with a sneer. Testament growled in frustration.

'Damn this bitch...she's just toying with me now. I hope your doing better than I am Sol.'

:::xXx:::

As for Sol...

He didn't know how long he was running, but the passage seemed to have no end in sight and Sol was becoming more and more frustrated and beginning to lose hope.

'Damn it, how much farther...'

Just as he was thinking about just stopping, a light came at the end of the passage. Fueled by his new resolve at seeing the light, Sol ran faster and faster.

'Come on...Just a little more.'

He thought. Almost instantly upon coming into the room, a massive blast of heated energy came to Sol's right, who barely had enough time to pull up a barrier with his magic. The attack was too strong, and it knocked Sol on his back roughly, letting Fire Seal slide from his grasp. Sol propped himself up on his elbows. His eyes widened at who he saw.

"I'm too late..."

Sol said softly to himself. Justice stood in his line of vision, her white armor gleaming when the light hit it. He could tell by the look of her reptilian eyes that she was being controlled. Sol got up slowly, surveying her carefully.

"I'll find a way to save you...for both our sake, and our daughter's..."

Sol said quietly. He didn't bother grabbing the Fire Seal again. It was an Outrage, one of the weapons used to kill his kinsmen. He only needed it's strength to get here, despite the fact he was using the very weapon used against his race. The weapon was made by the creator as well, in a sick twisted sense, used to kill his own creations with them as well. It was with that mentality Sol took up what his fellow Gears in the past remarked as a cursed weapon. He wanted to shove That Man's created weapon right through the heart of his enemy. He needed to save Justice now though, not kill her, and there was only one way to have a chance for him to be able to fight her at an equal level. Sol crossed his arms over the other, his muscles tensing.

"Dragon Install!"

Sol roared as his arms came out to his sides as he stomped his foot against the ground, letting his body become enveloped in a black flame. His flame covered body began to alter and change shape as it became similar to the armored Justice. The flames dispersed, and Sol adjusted himself to his crimson armor for the first time since the end of the crusades.

"Let's go."

He said, his voice sounding mechanical in the red armor. His bi-colored reptilian eyes focusing in on Justice. She stood upright, her arms at her sides and her metallic clawed hands clenching and unclenching into fists. The breastplate of her armor opened and closed as she breathed, allowing her body to be well ventilated. Sol's stance was similar, abeit even more calmer seeming than her own. His own breastplate opened and closed more slowly, his right hand resting on his hip since he had no pockets in which to put his thumb in like he normally would in normal human form. His left arm was lazily just at his side, hand clenching and unclenching into a fist in a similar fashion like Justice's.

'When I get done with having to do this...you better say your prayers, bastard...because I'm going to give you a one way ticket to hell when I'm through with you.'

-...To Be Continued...-

Note: Sorry for the late update. I've been pretty busy with my life recently and wasn't able to get this up very quickly as I had hoped. The whole point of this chapter was to begin setting up for a big fight scene between Sol and Justice for the next chapter, so there wasn't much action going on in this chapter, so I'm sorry about that. Despite this chapter being used for the Sol and Justice fight set up, the overall chapter still managed to become longer than I originally intended, and there is some extra humor added into some areas of this otherwise serious chapter that weren't there before. Overall, sorry for the lack of any real action in this chapter. Hopefully, I'll be able to get the next chapter up a little faster. If I'm lucky...


	9. The End Is In Sight

Chapter 9

Written By Illuminet

Disclaimer: Refer to the first chapter.

"..."-Indicate Speech

'...'-Indicate Thought

:::xXx:::

-Preface-

Slayer...

Born of Nosferatu, or as they are more commonly referred to, Vampires. Slayer is the leader of these immortal beings of Nightwalkers. These beings are the mortal enemy of Humankind, and although they have slipped into the darkest annals of history, it was the Gear Project that Frederick had started that caught the interest of Slayer and made him come out of hiding within the darkness of night to confront the scientist.

Slayer entreated Frederick with a clear warning. The Vampire race that had vanished from the world would return to take back the world that they rightfully owned before the birth of Humankind in ancient times. Unlike many of his brethren, who wanted to raid the world quickly, Slayer told Frederick that out of fairness, he would let Humankind prepare to protect themselves.

Slayer's terms were simple: As the creation of the Gears bring about the final piece to the missing link of immortality and the gift of gaining tremendous power to Humankind, he would allow Frederick to create a Gear that would become the Humans champion. On the day where night will always remain, Slayer himself will confront the champion in combat. Should Slayer triumph, Humankind is doomed to fall before the Vampires. Should the Gear be victorious, the Vampire race will remain in hiding and the Humans will continue to prosper in the world as they have been for a very long time.

After proclaiming the Proto-type Gear a failure, Frederick's sight turn to Justice, the first complete Gear. It was Justice who was to originally become the champion for the Humans, but with her death in the Crusades and her revival afterwards, Justice lacked the power to be able to be a reasonable threat against the powerful Slayer. It was when Frederick learned his Proto-type had completed himself that sights were returned to the Proto-type. Later, upon learning that the daughter of the two Gears would likely surpass her parents own power, Dizzy was decided as a possible candidate by Frederick as well. However, even with the greater power she possessed, because she lacked full knowledge and understanding of her own abilities, Frederick decided that she would just be a liability against Slayer.

Because Frederick has found out that Sol Badguy's power evolves not only by normal means, but also the negative feelings that reside within himself and other Gears, he decided that he needed to make Sol suffer. This was made in order to increase Sol's power more significantly. Yet, will Sol's power be enough to compete with Slayer's when the time comes?

:::xXx:::

-Main Story-

Underground Lab, Coliseum...?

His muscles were tense but he forced them to calm down. Sol kept his gaze leveled with that of Justice's. Her eyes bore into his own, hostile and unfamiliar to him. She couldn't recognize him since she was under That Man's influence.

'It comes down to this...funny how a few days ago I would never believe I would ever have to fight one of my own. And the very one just happened to be a loved one...the only one to blame for this is him...'

Sol thought, feeling anger well up inside him. Deciding to take the initiative, Sol charged at her first, already knowing where to strike her and end everything quickly. His thrusters propelled him quickly towards Justice, where he then thrust at her forehead with his hand, which took on a knife like shape. Justice swung out with her own arm, swatting his arm away as she brought her own arm out in a horizontal slash of a sword arm. Sol was sent back by the attack, but he came forward again quickly before she could fully recover to deliver a shoulder charge that knocked her to the ground and made her skid on her back a bit. He stradled her quickly, bringing his right hand to her throat to hold her head steady as he brought his left hand to her head piece. Justice reacted quickly and grabbed his left arm before he could fully put his fingers over her emblem marked forehead. Her tail came up to wrap around Sol's neck, forcing him back. Sol brought his right arm up from holding her neck to grab the appendage and force it off of his neck. His left arm was forcefully trying to break her grip as he tried to grasp around her head piece. Suddenly, Justice's thrusters activated and she propelled both herself and Sol into the air. She slammed him hard into the ground, bringing forth a sharp talon forward to scrape across the armored chest of Sol. Sol only grunted at the pain as he pushed her off him and then embedded his clawed hands into each of Justice's sides.

"You'll pay for this!"

The possessed Gear seethed out as she grabbed his forearms and forcing them out of her sides. She back flipped, whipping Sol hard under the chip with her tail. Sol fell roughly from the force. Sol got up slowly, as Justice came in front of him to swing out with her clawed hand in a large arc that slashed Sol hard across the face. He growled low in his throat as she lashed out with her other arm, but before she could make contact, Sol brought up his own arm to guard against the blow as his right fist came forward to strike Justice hard in the forehead that sent her reeling back from the blow. She clutched her forehead as her head shook, looking as if she was trying to clear her mind. Sol looked at the sight hopefully.

'Did I get it...?'

He hoped so. In order to make her break free from being controlled, all he needed was to totally destroy the armored head piece of her forehead. Justice's hands returned to their sides. Her forehead had some cracks running along it's surface, but otherwise, was still in tact. Sol cursed softly to himself.

'Fuck...why didn't I hit her harder? That could have ended this bout easily.'

He said to himself. This time Justice took initiative as she came forward with another slash of her morphed arm. Sol's own hand transformed to a blade as he slashed out at her. Their blades met in a blaze of sparks as they scraped against the surfaces of each other. Their blades remained lock together until Justice pushed Sol back. She aimed at his head with a clawed swipe of her hand, but Sol simple stepped back from the short attack before coming forward roughly with an uppercut to her chin that sent her skyward with the force behind it. Bits of armor fell from the cracks that lined her chin. Sol was then on top of her, his left hand going around her head piece before he slammed her bodily to the floor. Sol prepared to pull back, intent on ripping the head piece right off her forehead, but before he could get very far, Justices hands came to his forearm, stopping him. Her talons impaled through his armor, twisting his forearm in order to make his grip over her head piece to go in an angle where he could not grasp it more solidly. Sol gave up and wrenched his arm out of her hold. Justice lunged up at him, her arms poised to impale his head with her clawed fingers. He quickly snatched her hands, and pulled her closer to him, where he stuck her hard with his head. Justice reeled back from the head butt, an arm rubbing her forehead.

'Looks like it's been heavily damaged...that means the link should be severed from her head piece and her emblem...which means she'll be set free from his control!'

Sol thought to himself. Before he could congratulate himself, Justice slashed out with her sword arm, forming a concentrated wave of energy to lance out from the blade in a straight line. Sol barely evaded the attack.

"What the fuck...?"

He muttered softly to himself. Justice peered at him through narrowed eyes. Eyes that showed recognition.

"Freddie..."

She groaned out. Her eyes lost the feeling however and soon returned to how they once were.

"Not yet...!"

She said in a dangerous tone. The safety clips of her shoulders opened up.

"Not this again."

Sol sighed. With the last bit of control he had over her, That Man was ordering Justice to unleash the ultimate weapon on her person. Sol's body tensed up as heat began radiating from Justice's shoulders. The furious wave of light came forth quickly at Sol, but he didn't even try to block it. Instead, he held his ground, and just before the beam collided with his body, he jumped into the air, hovering dangerously close to the large blast radius of the Gamma Ray. Kicking his thrusters into action, Sol soared over the attack, landing right behind Justice. Her head turned to regard him with astounded eyes. His own shoulder clips opened, gathering energy.

"Hope you won't hate me for this..."

He muttered. He let his own attack hit her dead in the back, engulfing her form in concentrated energy. This action made Justice collide with her own attack as well, ensuing in a massive explosion that sent Sol off his feet and skidding across the ground roughly in a blaze of sparks as he tore through the ground. The explosion caused his sensors to malfunction for a moment as his vision slowly came back into focus. Sol groaned as he brought a hand to his head. Warnings buzzed through his head, informing him of the extensive damage his armor had taken from the stunt he pulled off. Sol ignored this as he stood up. He stared at the dust cloud that formed after the explosion came. Thankfully it disappeared soon enough and Sol found himself standing in front of a rather large crater that formed from the explosion as well. He wasted no time jumping into it when he noticed Justice lying face first in the center. A good chunk of armor had been taken off her back from his own attack, and the flesh of her back that was revealed was badly charred. Sol grimaced under his helmet at this, but he soon let out a sigh of relief seeing the charred skin beginning to heal nicely. Her armor disappeared from her body, leaving her naked figure on the ground. Sol stood up, looking up towards the sky. The illusion disappeared, showing a large bare ceiling.

'Figures...'

Sol said to himself. He grunted slightly and fell to his knees. He put his hand over his forehead and shook himself out of dizziness as his armor disappeared as well. He lowered his hand looking at his head piece. Sol sighed.

'Looks like I'll need to find some new leather straps to hold this thing up on my forehead, not to mention some new clothes.'

He thought off hand, leaving the head piece to fall to the ground as he left it abandoned on the ground. One of the weird perks for Gears when equipping their armors was that when the armor disappeared, any article of clothing a Gear might be wearing also gets removed. This was the last thing on Sol's mind of course as he went to inspect Justice. Kneeling beside the fallen Gear, Sol took her in his arms, gently slapping her cheek to awake her. Her eyes squinted slightly before opening into slits as she emitted a groan. Her golden eyes fell to mismatched colored crimson and gold eyes of Sol.

"Freddie..."

She said weakly in her groggy state. He smiled gently at her.

"Good, looks like you simmered down and are back to normal."

He told her. He helped her sit up.

"She's beautiful, Freddie...thanks for keeping your promise."

Justice said with a smile. He smiled back.

"Don't worry about it. And the name's Sol now."

He informed her.

"Sol..."

She said softly, as if testing the name on her lips.

"Yes, I know it used to be my Human middle name, but I've already taken it as my first name for the a long time now. Along as your last name for my own."

He said. Justice looked at him confused.

"Sol Badguy, then...?"

She asked. Sol nodded.

"Yeah, that's it."

He confirmed. Justice shrugged.

"I'll just have to get used to it. We need to get going. Dizzy is waiting."

She told him, getting to her feet along with Sol. The two made their way out of the crater, Sol retrieving his head piece on the way out.

"Justice, I'll take you with me, but your going to have to stay out of the fighting. Since that asshole's got your armor under his control, your going to be a liability since you and me both are at our strongest only when our armors are on."

He told her in a serious voice. Justice nodded, though that was the only confirmation she gave Sol.

:::xXx:::

With Testament and Faust...

"Yo, Testament...and Dr. Baldhead? What are you doing here?"

Testament almost lost concentration when Johnny's voice came to his ears.

"What's going on here?"

Ky asked. Testament grunted.

"If you couldn't tell, I'm a bit preoccupied with this guitar swinging bitch!"

Testament said as he blocked a thrust attack that I-No had just pulled off. No matter how hard he hit, I-No was not fazed by his attacks in the slightest. That fact that she was regenerating her wounds at an unbelievable rate wasn't helping matters either.

"Looks like the doc is holding his own better than Testament is."

May stated. Johnny looked down at her.

"Yeah, but why does the doc keep screaming all those weird phrases when he attacks? I mean what's up with all that yelling of -Going My Way- and -What A Psycho-?"

He asked. May just shrugged.

"What is he anyway? Is he Human?"

Jam asked. Johnny shrugged this time.

"He says he is, so I guess so. The tallest and the lankiest, anyway."

He said to her.

"Maybe we should help them out, since they seem to be reaching their limits."

Anji suggested. Baiken stepped forward.

"The faster we take down these two, the faster we can get back to our search for That Man."

She said. In an instant she was in between Testament and I-No, lashing out viciously with barrage of slashes.

"Let's get this over with. I'll be your opponent!"

Baiken challenged. I-No smirked, before laughing.

"What, you planning to poke me to death with that dull butter knife of your's, deary?"

I-No mocked. Baiken let out a feral growl from her throat.

"You'll be saying something totally different when my -butter knife- as you call it severs you into two at the waist."

Baiken snarled. I-No's mood became darker.

"You want to fuck with me, eh, bitch? That's fine, I'll smash you to pieces like the frail mortal you are. And that goes for all you other assholes who want to step in against me."

I-No said in a deeper, more sensual, and enigmatic voice. It was no idle threat. Johnny seemed to be in another world when the two women fought.

"Ooooh, cat fight!"

He said stupidly. The males eyed him oddly.

"Huh?"

Ky responded. Johnny looked at the shorter man, as a perverted grin graced his lips at Ky's clueless expression.

"Come on, Officer, don't tell me the sight of two hot women going at it doesn't get you excited? I mean just look at those..."

Bridget interrupted the black clad bandit swordsman.

"Uh Johnny, I'd stop there if I were you..."

Bridget stated. Johnny looked at the boy unfazed.

"Can it Bridget, not when I'm on a role. Now then where was I...oh yeah, those heaving breasts..."

This time Anji interrupted.

"Uh, Johnny, normally I'm all ears, but I think it really is best to heed Bridget's words..."

He went ignored and unheard as Johnny continued.

"Those swaying hips and..."

Now Chipp's turn.

"Uh, your going to find yourself in a lot of pain if you don't shut up..."

As with Anji and Bridget, Chipp went ignored.

"...those firm asses. How can you guys not..."

Before Johnny could continue, his chin was struck hard by a high kick courtesy of a very miffed Jam. As Johnny went skyward, May was there to intercept him, and with a racket like motion of her anchor, Johnny was sent back to earth face first, groaning. The other guys cringed, before shaking their heads and sighing.

"Dumb ass."

Chipp said. The others nodded.

"Agreed."

Johnny just laid there, talking incoherently.

"I saw angels just now..."

:::xXx:::

With Sol and Justice...

"Proto-type...it's been a long time."

The two Gears stopped dead in their tracks when they heard the voice of the one who tormented them the most.

"Not long enough. Where the hell are you?"

Sol stated as he stood protectively in front of Justice. Even with his enhance vision, Sol couldn't see a thing. Light filled the Gears vision nearly blinding them. Sol growled when he saw That Man, sitting on a throne wrapped in giant black chains and red skull motifs. Dizzy was strewn against That Man's lap, unconscious.

"For shame, Proto-type. Not even dressed, I see."

That Man said, shaking his hooded head. Sol's eyes narrowed.

"Don't blame me for that, asshole. Besides, my state of undress shouldn't be your concern. What did you do to her?"

He showed slight concern for the young woman laying on top of That Man's legs.

"A little bit of tampering. But the results came up short. These breed of Gears born from Gears are very unique, but not as customizable as the original Gears built by man. She is immune to all forms of control, unlike her mother, so unfortunately, I can't use her as an asset against you. Still...that doesn't mean I can't take care of you myself."

That Man said. Sol smirked.

"It's about fucking time you did, too! I'm going to enjoy smashing your face in, old man."

Sol said as he cracked his knuckles in each palm, before summoning up his armor again, fully healed from it's stasis mode. That Man stood up, holding Dizzy by the waist. With a snap of his fingers, two black chains slithered down from the ceiling to wrap around Dizzy's arms, raising her in the air. His left hand came forward, as a flame began emanating from his palm. The flame got bigger until it formed into the Fire Seal Outrage and fell into That Man's hand.

"Oh shit."

Sol muttered. That Man chuckled.

"Don't think I'm only going to use the Fire Seal Outrage, Proto-type. How about this as well?"

In his right hand, lightning gathered, before it too formed into the Thunder Seal Outrage and fell into his other hand.

:::xXx:::

With the others...

"What the...! Where did...?!"

Ky had joined the fray and was now fighting Raven. Raven came forth with a powerful right hook, while Ky drew back the Thunder Seal to defend against the blow. Unfortunately, the magic sword disappeared, and Ky was knocked down hard by Raven's fist. Bridget glared at the dark servant of That Man.

"Hey, that's cheating! You bastard!"

He shouted. Raven just looked dumbly at the fallen Ky.

"But..."

He began to say, but Jam's voice overpowered his when she was by her unconscious husband's side, cradling his head against her chest.

"No darling, don't die!"

She wailed. Johnny and Chipp looked at each other.

"Uh...I think she's over reacting. He just got knocked out."

He said. Chipp shrugged.

"True...but when a loved ones hurt, all people will react differently...in Mrs. Kiske's case it's...er, I don't know."

He responded. Bridget lowered his head, his hair over shadowing his eyes.

"Believe me...you two are better off not knowing. Once she gets over the crying...things become scary. There was this one time when a petty thief stole a purse from some lady who was walking ahead of mom and dad on their way to work. Anyway, dad gave chase, since he was an officer of the law. While he was in hot pursuit at an intersection, dad get's hit by a bus that couldn't stop in time when the thief came by a little bit before dad did. He was left pretty much in the same state as now, and once mom got over the initial shock...let's just say she went berserk."

Bridget said darkly. Johnny cringed.

"That thief must have had his ass handed to him once she caught up with him."

He said Bridget shook his head.

"She didn't kick the thief's ass...more like she beat the bus into nothing but a pile of scrap metal. I was told the driver and his passengers barely got out of there alive."

Everyone stared at Bridget wide eyed.

"Why do I get the feeling Raven is going to be in some serious trouble?"

Johnny asked.

:::xXx:::

With Sol and Justice...

"Oh shit...this looks bad."

Sol muttered. He knew things wouldn't be easy, but this was just ridiculous.

"What's wrong Proto-type? Lost confidence, have you? I suggest you give up and go home, Proto-type. Justice and Dizzy will be in good hands, I assure you. Wallow in your despair for not being able to defeat me yet, and build your hatred. It will make you powerful enough. Slayer won't be making an entrance for at least the next four or five centuries. Use this time to be ready for him."

That Man said.

"Slayer? Never heard of him."

Sol said. That Man shook his head.

"Should you fail when the time comes, not only you, but everyone will die. You don't want to put your family in danger, do you? Come back here when you've ascended your limits ten fold."

That Man warned him. Sol lowered his head, processing the new knowledge brought to him. After a long uncomfortable silence, Sol finally spoke.

"Sorry, I can't do that. I'm not leaving my woman or my child with you for the next four or five hundred years. When Slayer comes, I'll be ready for him."

Sol said firmly, standing with unyielding. That Man sighed.

"If by some small chance you do defeat me on this day, you will be signing the world's death warrant. I am the key which will hold Slayer back for so long. If you take me down, the key will be broken and Slayer will descend immediately on this world. And you will have to fight him. And you will lose and die, killing your family because of it. Don't be foolish, Sol Badguy...wait until you are truly ready."

That Man explained. Sol shook his head.

"I am ready. More than you'll ever truly know. I will beat the shit out of you and this Slayer you talk about this day, and I will take Justice and Dizzy with me. Get ready bastard, because I'm going to tear you a new asshole!"

-To Be Continued-

Note: Sorry for the delay. I've been busy. Luckily, I've finally got a copy of Guilty Gear Isuka and have been playing it every chance I get. I heard the general public didn't really like this game as much as Guilty Gear X2 (Guilty Gear XX: The Midnight Carnival), which is too bad because I actually enjoy playing Guilty Gear Isuka quite a bit (Despite being a short game, it's very addicting). I bring this update mostly because I'm very happy to say I've finally obtained the very nearly impossible to get Gamma Ray data chip for Robo-Ky MK II, and anyone who has gotten it knows obtaining it is no easy walk in the park. Anyway, I'll try to get up chapter ten as soon as possible (I only have about a quarter of it done...).


	10. Happily Ever After

Chapter 10

Written By Illuminet

Disclaimer: Refer to the first chapter.

"..."-Indicate Speech

'...'-Indicate Thought

:::xXx:::

-Preface-

Dragon...

The program that is a representation of the raw destructive power that courses deep within the Proto-type Gear. With the failure to tame the beast the Proto-type became, Frederick proceeded no further with the Proto-type, dubbing it a failure, and left it in an incomplete state. While Frederick finally began to work on what would be the first complete Gear in the world, the Proto-type was a mindless doll serving under the scientist. Unknown to Frederick previously, the persona of his son (thought to have been erased during the Gear conversion) and that of the Dragon came into contact within the Proto-type's body. Despite what is known about the Dragon thus far, it is not completely a mind that runs on animalistic instincts alone.

With an agreement struck between the Human Frederick II and the Dragon, the Proto-type was fully completed, and to assure no harm would come to either of them by each other, both personas agreed to relinquish most of their control in order to create yet a third entity within the body which would be the dominant one (Freddie / Sol Badguy). It has been this way ever since the creation of Justice was still being completed.

:::xXx:::

-Main Story-

Underground Lab, Castle Ruins...?

'The last dance is starting...'

Sol thought to himself. Both he an his opponent charged head on at each other, battle cries erupting from their throats as they closed the distance between each other. That Man skidded to a stop in his tracks, bringing his left hand forth to impale the ground with the Fire Seal.

"Savage Fang!"

Before Sol could react, he was engulfed in a whirlwind of crimson flames as they rose up from the ground underneath him like a volcano erupting lava. Sol was about to recover in mid air, but noticed too late That Man was waiting right under him from the disbursing flames.

"Aces High!"

He leapt at Sol, encasing himself in a sphere of electricity as he charged at the floating Gear. Sol's roar of pain was lost amongst the sound of thunder. At the peak of his jump, That Man slashed out with another attack, using his gained momentum to twist in the air, letting Thunder Seal finish off with a downward chop that left florescent trails of light behind the blade. Sol was struck with the final onslaught, and was sent way back, crashing into a wall and ricocheting off it like a basket ball. Sol collided with the ground face first, hard.

'Sol!'

He heard Justice within his head. A smirk appeared on his lips underneath his damaged armor.

'Don't worry about me. Just get Dizzy down from there. Hurry!'

He ordered, getting to his feet, as he heard the rapid foot falls of That Man as he was running towards Sol. He jumped slightly in the air, flames gathering in front of him.

"Tyrant Rave Alpha!"

That Man propelled himself forward at an impressive speed as shield of fire protected him from the front. Sol growled.

"Fuck off, bastard! Don't think you get me so easily this time. How about a taste of your own medicine? Tyrant Rave Beta!"

Just before That Man's fire shield could connect with Sol, Sol countered with an upward swipe of his right claw, halting That Man in the air with a ball of flame. Sol then came forward with a downward swipe with his left claw, making the sphere of fire explode, sending out a shield of fire that made That Man sail hard through the air. Sol was not finished as he dashed towards his still airborne adversary. Before That Man fell to the ground, Sol jumped in the air, twisting in much the same fashion as That Man had done earlier against Sol. Sol struck That Man with a downward cut of his sword arm, which was charged with electricity. That Man struck the ground with immense force, bouncing up slightly, allowing Sol to finish off with a well timed uppercut of his sword arm to make the Man go through the air, twisting three hundred sixty degrees before falling roughly on his shoulder. That Man got up quickly from the ground.

"Getting creative with our techniques now, are we? Well, you always were a fast learner, even when you were still just Human. It would also seem your much more invulnerable to the Outrages attacks than I originally counted on. I guess that's the price paid for making these weapons considering the genetic coding involved with their making."

That Man stated.

"I could care less about your stupid Outrage and all the principles behind their making. You made them so you could kill your own created race of beings. What were we all to you? Sheep? While you played God and created us just so Humans could nearly kill us all again?"

Sol asked him. That Man's shoulders slumped.

"Had the Gears not tried to make war, these Outrage would have never had to been used and would just be collecting dust in their cases. Gears brought their own destruction when they claimed they had independent thought."

That Man said. Sol scowled under his armor.

"What, now your saying we should have let ourselves be used as weapons of war just for the Humans amusement and ambition? Bull shit! Had Justice not stepped in, we would be killing each other to this day just so the Nations of the world could get their greedy little hands on new territory! That war was your fault! You're the one who created us!"

Sol accused him.

"I know of the sins committed by myself on the world, and I accept them willingly...Frederick, I have sacrificed much and committed my sins without reserve...all for the sake of saving all life on this little planet we call Earth. I know what your doing right now is just, Frederick...however you must refrain from stopping me now. On this planet, Slayer is God. And weather he goes lightly on you or not is his decision. You must be ready later, not now. Your own family could be killed if you decided to take me down now."

That man explained. Sol shook his head.

"If you think I'm going to allow myself to wallow in my hatred and anger for you, your dead fucking wrong...Say I did things your way, do you actually think I could live all eternity knowing I killed some freak and saved the world and having my family loathe me for abandoning them rather than trying to save them now?"

Sol countered That Man's words.

"Have you not heard a word I've spoken to you, Frederick?! You will lose everything now if you defeat me and face him. Is that what you really want? To lose everything now rather than claim them later when you know your fully prepared?"

He was angered by Sol's refusal to just cooperate. The Gear was so adamant he was blind to what could be seen as the bigger picture.

"Say what you want, old man. I've made my decision so long ago, and your speech about me saving the world won't change it. It is my decision to make after all...now shut up and live with it."

Sol said calmly before charging at his enemy. He was through with words, now his fists had to do the talking for him. That Man took the defensive as Sol came bodily forward with a giant sweep of his claws, causing sparks to flicker off the surfaces of both Outrages. That Man staggered back slightly from the force of the blow. That Man went for a counter attack, but only ended up getting swatted back by Sol's tail. With him momentarily stunned, Sol grabbed the sides of That Man's cloaked head before slamming it into his own armored one. Sol brought his head back again, intent on head butting his enemy again, but That Man's cloak went limp in his arms.

"What the fuck...!"

Sol turned his head just in time to see a hefty sized fire ball descending on his head. He ditched the cloak and jumped back to avoid the attack, but did not count on the fire ball dispersing in the ground and sending up pillars of fire jutting out from the ground one by one. Sol was struck and left skidding on his back rather roughly.

"I have to admit, your determination is great, but ultimately a waste of effort."

That Man said, almost tauntingly. Sol growled as he stood up. It was scary to think how closely the two looked like each other in Human form. That Man's skin was a bit pale though in comparison to Sol's, and his hair was a dull grey color. Had the spiky hair been allowed to grow longer, one could almost say they were twins.

"Heh, keep thinking that. But you and I both know you didn't expect me to be able to retaliate so easily. Your getting more and more worried about the outcome of this fight, and we've barely even started. That's why you keep telling me to decline right now...your afraid I really will beat you and that I won't be able to do the same with Slayer..."

Sol said knowingly. He may have been given a little scare initially when That Man summoned the Outrage, but the weapons were not as effective against him as he would have initially thought either. Sol now had the confidence to be able to finally get payback for all the things That Man did, not only upon Sol, but almost the entire factory made Gears in the past. He charged at That Man once again.

"Sacred Edge!"

That Man moved his right arm in a circular motion, summoning a ring of electricity. The energy gathered into the Thunder Seal's blade as That Man slammed the hilt into the ground. Lightning struck the ground in a wave as bolts cascaded down from the ceiling. Sol smirked inwardly before moving to the side to evade the attack.

"Imperial Ray!"

Sol jammed his tail into the ground, sending a large trail of fire through the ground at That Man, in much the same fashion as That Man had used his Sacred Edge attack. That Man evaded, coming quickly towards Sol and lashing out with both the Thunder Seal and Fire Seal. Sol brought up his arms to guard against the blows, holding the blades of the weapons in his hands tightly. Sol brought his tail forward, slashing into That Man's flesh repeatedly with rapid thrusts of the tail. That Man was bleeding from many wounds all over his chest and abdomen as Sol continued to hold him in place, daring him to let go of the Outrage. It did not go unnoticed to Sol that each blade was beginning to heat up. Electricity slithered across the Thunder Seal's blade more rapidly as it's clear blade began getting brighter. The blade of the Fire Seal was becoming red hot as the temperature of it's surface kept rising. Sol gritted his teeth together since it was becoming harder and harder to hold the blades. Suddenly, when Sol's tail was aimed low, That Man quickly brought his foot to stomp on the tail and hold it underneath his foot.

"Hold still."

That Man said as the tail began to wriggle. That Man came forward brutally and head butted Sol hard in the forehead. Sol's head jolted back as he got stunned by the action. That Man was far from over, however. With Sol's grip loosening from having been taken by surprised, That Man lunged forward roughly as he crossed the blades over each other. He brought the two weapons to Sol's face, where he struck Sol's eyes with them. Sol let out a vicious roar as his hands came over his eyes. From underneath his hands, blood kept running down his face where his eyes were located. Sol stumbled back, sensors going off in his head and telling him his eyes had been damaged by the intense heat generated by the Thunder Seal and the Fire Seal.

'Shit! My armor would have to be removed and put in stasis to repair this kind of damage, and I'd be left way to vulnerable...'

Sol thought as he continued to back away, hoping his sensors would soon tell him his eye sight would soon be restored. Nothing happened.

"You were careless, Proto-type. It would seem this will be your undoing as well."

Sol heard That Man say. He was struck viciously in the ribs by a blunt object. It was actually the pommel adorning the hilt of the Fire Seal which had struck him as That Man came forward with a quick but powerful jab. Sol's head reeled to the side as he was hit by the flat of Thunder Seal's blade. That Man came with a rapid succession of moves, slashing and striking Sol all around the body hard. Sol soon knelt to his knees as Thunder Seal's hilt struck Sol in the back of the neck. Sol then went airborne as That Man landed a powerful uppercut with the Fire Seal. Sol fell on his back heavily.

"You still have much to learn, Proto-type. After I dispose of you up on the surface, I'll move the location of my lab somewhere you can't find me. When the time comes, and you defeat Slayer, you'll see Justice and Dizzy then. Foster the malice you feel for me within you, and soon you should hopefully be able to defeat Slayer once a few centuries have gone by."

That Man's voice came to his ear. Sol growled as he tried to get up, not willing himself to give in to the direness of the situation.

"Leave him alone!"

Sol's ears perked up.

'Dizzy...?'

He soon heard what sounded like an explosion and then felt someone gripping onto his elbow with one hand while the other was on his back.

"Hurry up and put your armor in stasis!"

That had been Justice's voice. Sol complied and willed his armor to be removed. His vision was a blur of color for a brief moment before the shapes became more recognizable. Justice's face filtered into his vision.

"Damn, I was too over confident."

Sol muttered as he looked at her.

"It's a good thing I got Dizzy up in time or you might not have been able made it."

Justice said. Sol smiled before rising to his feet. Dizzy was attacking brashly, but it was enough to hold That Man at bay. Sol smirked.

"Hey Dizzy, that's enough, I'll take over again!"

Sol shouted to her. Dizzy complied quickly and dashed back from That Man.

"It seems you don't like playing fair, Proto-type."

That Man said, his voice seething. Sol kept a smirk on his face.

"I think you've gone unfair ever since the very beginning, so go ahead and spew your shit about what's fair and what's not, because I could give a rat's ass on what you think. This ain't no boxing ring, so rules don't exist here, bastard."

Sol said confidently. He summoned out his armor for a third time since arriving here.

"Ah, much better. Now let's continue where we left off."

Sol said. That Man sighed, but complied and ran towards Sol with immense speed. Sol also charged, but stopped quickly and halted in place when That Man was only a few feet away from him. With a wave of his sword arm, Sol sent out a flat beam of light that caught That Man off guard and sent him off his feet and into the air. His momentum carried him over Sol, who had red light emitting from the emblem of his head piece. Sol soon shot a laser from the emblem, which caught That Man in the blast, before making him fall on his back. That Man quickly rolled out of the way to evade Sol's claws, which tore into the ground where That Man used to be.

"Grand Viper!"

That Man slithered across the ground like a snake with the flames trailing around him. Sol brought his arms up to guard the attack, feeling himself getting pushed back from the force of That Man's attack. The direction soon changed as That Man leapt up into the air, creating a searing inferno from the Fire Seal's blade. Sol did not hesitate to go up after him. Sol quickly grabbed him by the legs as he spun That Man on his back, where Sol put his knees on. Sol then dive bombed to the ground while kneeling on top of That Man. He made That Man crash into the ground face first, his knees digging into That Man's back harshly.

"This isn't going to be your victory."

Sol stated. That Man swiftly rose from the ground, knocking Sol off of him. He attacked with a downward slash of the Thunder Seal, which Sol barely avoided. Sol brought an arm to defend against Fire Seal as it followed up with the other Outrage.

"Crescent Slash!"

That Man faked a side slash with the Thunder Seal, which Sol had fallen for, trying to rush in for a counter attack, only to be knocked up into the air as That Man performed an inverted front flip, letting Thunder Seal strike with a small bolt of lightning. Sol fell on his stomach, getting up quickly to evade a side swipe of the Fire Seal as it's blade cut into the ground.

"I've had enough of this."

That Man said.

"That makes two of us."

Sol answered back.

'There's one way to end this quickly...'

Sol thought to himself as his muscles tightened. The two Outrage were starting to glow fiercely with their innate magic properties. Without much regard to his own safety, Sol blasted his thrusters at full speed as he charged towards That Man. When Sol was in range, That Man showed no mercy. He thrust out with the Thunder Seal, as it's blade became engulfed in a large wave of electricity. Sol got caught up in the large blast, and was pulled towards That Man by the Thunder Seal's energy. That Man positioned Thunder Seal blade so Sol would be placed almost over him. The Fire Seal's blade trembled violently as That Man jumped up after Sol's body, being propelled by a geyser of red flames. That Man passed along side Sol's who had been enwrapped in the flames of destruction. That Man smiled.

'Frederick...this technique won't kill you, only render you unconscious for a few days or so...I hope you understand that I do this for your own good...'

That Man knew his words would never physically reach to Sol's ears, but hopefully he could learn to understand. That Man was surprised by a blur of red that came in front of him. He soon felt himself being propelled upward by force. That Man opened his eyes in shock to see what was propelling him upward.

"That's impossible. You should not have been able to remain conscious from an attack that powerful, Gear or not!!"

That Man stated in disbelief. Sol continued bringing That Man up, as his arms crossed over by That Man's neck, his fingers holding either side of That Man's head. Sol's armor began falling off in large jagged pieces, disintegrating before they even touched the ground. That Man's eyes widened in understanding.

"You...sacrificed your armor just to use your attack...'

That Man uttered. The helmet on his head also began falling off, leaving only the head piece dangling on Sol's forehead. The biggest and most arrogant smirk was plastered to Sol's face. The two stop their ascent when they rammed into the ceiling. That Man's vision went black.

"You lose."

Were the only words he heard before bright light filled his vision. The light faded, and the illusion disappeared from the ruins of a castle back into an ordinary room.

"Dad, wake up!"

Sol grunted as he heard Dizzy's voice. He was laying on his stomach, debris littered all around him. He felt to hands resting on each of his shoulders. He stood up shakily with the help of Dizzy and Justice. He held his head piece to his forehead.

"Where is he? Is it over?"

Sol asked. Justice guided him to another fallen body. That Man lay on his back, bleeding profusely from numerous wounds on his body.

"You've grown strong, Frederick...I couldn't handle your last attack...please hear me out, if only for just a moment, Frederick..."

That Man said weakly, his voice strained. Sol kneeled before the fallen Gear maker.

"Fine. I guess I could at least do that much for you."

Sol stated quietly.

"Listen Frederick...with me dying here, Slayer will appear very shortly...I have something that I want to give to you..."

A mysterious black flame surrounded That Man's arm as he held it up in the air. The flame gathered into his palm, beginning to extend further outward until it formed a weapon. A scythe with a white shaft and a long, black, curved blade. Although it's design was simple, a great power emanated softly from within. That Man placed the scythe in Sol's reluctant hand.

"What the hell is this suppose to do?"

Sol asked as he turned the scythe around in his grip to view all aspects of it. That Man let out a heaving breath.

"Like you, this weapon is a proto-type blade...a hidden piece to the Outrage set...unlike the others, however, this weapon was designed by me for you...so that you could have a greater chance at defeating Slayer when the time comes...this time is too short for my liking, but if this is how it's suppose to be, I'll just have to accept it..."

That Man explained, his voice getting weaker and weaker.

"Whoa, hold it. What kind of magic is this thing used for? Hell, how am I suppose to use this anyway?"

Sol asked. That Man shuddered out another weak breath.

"Don't worry, son, it works exactly like its siblings..."

Was all he said before closing his eyes. Sol put his finger on That Man's neck, feeling for a pulse. None came.

"Is he...?"

Justice asked. Sol looked up at her and nodded.

"Yeah..."

He wanted to say more, but a sound caught his ears. The sounds of clapping.

"I'm very impressed. It would seem your creator didn't even know the true depth of your powers."

Sol turned towards the voice, finding a well dressed man sitting on what appeared to be a moving piece of cloth. An eye glass was on his left eye and a wooden pipe hung from his lips. He looked fairly old, but his eyes were filled with a youthful gleam Sol had never seen in most people of old age.

"Who the hell are you? You wouldn't be Slayer by any chance...?"

Sol said, his right hand unconsciously gripping the head piece on his forehead harder while the left one tightened around the shaft of the scythe.

"That is correct, and you are the Proto-type Gear, yes? It is an honor to meet you, Mr. Badguy."

Slayer said in a tone of voice that was much to cheery for Sol's ears.

"Can't say I feel the same about having to meet you, though."

Sol stated gruffly.

'Justice, get Dizzy and yourself out of here. I'll handle this. It is my responsibility after all.'

Sol told her.

'Are you sure? We can help you, though.'

She told him. Sol refused. He didn't need them involved anymore than they already were.

'Please, Justice...get out of here. I'll be there shortly.'

Sol said. He didn't know if he could hold up to those words from what That Man said about Slayer. He couldn't tell which one had the upper hand in terms of true power, but he was pretty sure Slayer was the one with the advantage.

"Come on, Dizzy, let's go. Your father will handle this."

Justice said in a hushed tone. It was against her better judgement, seeing as That Man was dead, she could fight freely with her armor now, plus Sol had sacrificed his armor in the fight with That Man and that meant he couldn't summon his armor back from stasis in quite some time. Dizzy looked confused.

"But..."

She began, but Justice simply shook her head, and Dizzy became quiet. Slayer stood up when he saw the two female Gears about to leave, his cape came up to go over his right shoulder.

"Hold on a moment. If you want to make this a three on one fight, I will not stop you. The time predicted by your creator has come far sooner than he ever thought possible, so you are probably far to weak alone to defeat me, Mr. Badguy."

Slayer stated. Sol kept his face neutral, but inside he felt nervous. He did not care nearly as much about his well being as in comparison to his family's well being. They could be killed in this fight if they were allowed to participate.

'But then again...they'd be dead anyway if I get killed against him...'

Sol thought to himself.

"Listen carefully, you three. Despite how your creator may have made it sound like, I do not really have a wish to take over the world all that much. It is much more interesting seeing events unfold in this world from the shadows. I'm only putting up a fight because my people want me to. I will leave this world alone if you can impress me enough to make me yield to you. I won't say it will be easy, since my kind would rather have the mortals champion dead at my feet along with the rest of the other mortals."

Slayer explained.

"You sure you want to do that? Bending the rules in our favor and letting us get away with just impressing you rather than going all out in a fight to the death, huh?"

Sol asked. He was suspicious. If it had been Sol who was in Slayer's place, he wondered if he would do a thing like what Slayer was doing now.

"The reason I sympathize is because like you, I am also a family man. Of course, I don't have a child of my own...excuse me, I am beginning to ramble like the old man that I am. As I said before, I won't make things easy for you, but if you give it your all, you may be pleasantly surprised with the results. Think on it, I've got time to kill anyway."

He said, straightening the neck tie and smoothing the tuxedo he wore.

"Dad, please?"

Sol heard Dizzy say to him. It struck him as a little odd that someone like her would want to fight when she didn't really like to in the first place. He lowered his head to think for a very brief moment.

"Alright, if that's all that has to be done, then I'm fine with that...Alright you two, get ready."

Sol said. Justice summoned her armor on her body, and Dizzy's wings extended to full length, revealing the two systems spawned from her Gear nature, Necro and Undine.

"Before we start, let's get you dressed appropriately, shall we?"

Slayer said, swinging out with his cape, which extended outward greatly. Sol brought the scythe up to block the attack, but nothing happened. The cape soon returned to it's normal size as Slayer once again put it on his shoulder. Sol looked down at himself.

"Well I'll be damned..."

Sol muttered. Somehow Slayer made Sol's clothing reappear. Sol was glad he wouldn't have to keep holding his head piece up. Sol switched the scythe to his right hand before picking up the discarded Fire Seal in his left hand. He then cracked his neck audibly.

"Dad..."

Sol heard Dizzy call him. She sounded as nervous as he once felt only moments ago. It was understandable considering her lack of experience at combat.

"It's okay to be scared, just don't give up. Me and your mother are here for you."

Sol whispered softly, so soft that Dizzy barely heard it. Still, she had and she felt better and more secure. Truth be told she'd rather not have a violent confrontation, that seemed to be the only possible solution, and if her parents were going down, she wouldn't be far behind. Still, she was determined to see a different outcome. A more positive one.

"Show me the powers you Gears possess."

Slayer taunted.

'Here goes...'

Sol told himself. He decided to go first, and charged head long with Slayer, who remained standing in place. Wordlessly, Sol lashed out with the scythe in a horizontal strike, but Slayer's form simply disappeared.

"Behind you."

Upon hearing the voice, Sol didn't hesitate to spin around and slash out with the Fire Seal, however, before he made contact, he was struck hard in the face with a back fist that sent him toppling to the ground. Justice soon came up to Slayer, Dizzy not far behind her. The two simultaneously struck Slayer, Justice with an extending talon and Dizzy's wing Undine stabbed with a small blade of ice that formed in her palm. Slayer simply moved his right hand about in quick succession, guarding against all their attacks before retreating back suddenly. He skidded back in their direction as his fist came out at an amazing speed, striking them and sending them flying way back from the force of the impact. Slayer crouched to avoid a high slash from Sol behind him, and was about to retaliate, but Sol slashed out with an upward motion of his scythe, leaving a trail of inhuman black fire off the tip of the large, curved blade. Slayer stopped momentarily to avoid rushing into the black flame, but Sol got over his initial surprise very quickly and hacked at the flames with Fire Seal, creating an explosion of black fire that sent Slayer off his feet as he was caught in the massive blast.

"Holy shit! This thing is powerful...whatever it is..."

Sol muttered to himself. He wasn't even sure what he fully pulled off, but the attack seemed to come naturally. Slayer got up, coughing, a gaping wound lined his chest. Slayer looked to it before smiling.

"Amazing...I felt that...it's been a very long time since someone has been able to injure me. It would seem like your weapon can prevent me from regenerating very quickly. I guess your creator really had high hopes for you."

Slayer stated.

"Yeah whatever."

Sol muttered. He went on the offensive, hoping to keep Slayer distracted while Justice and Dizzy had a chance to attack the Nightwalker from behind. Sol came with a downward swing of his scythe, but Slayer teleported away before he could be hit. Slayer was about to retaliate, but Sol came forward quickly to slam the hilt of Fire Seal into Slayer's chest and send the him flying back through the air, only to be intercepted by Justice, who slashed him with her blade arm. Dizzy followed up with a lightning dagger created by Undine that homed in on Slayer's location in the air. Before the projectile could hit him, however, Slayer spun out of harms way, letting thin red wings sprout from his back as he dived bombed at Justice, and struck her squarely in the chest and knocking the wind out of her. Upon touching ground he rose up again to add another devastating hit, that blasted Justice high into the air. Before Slayer could descend from his attack, Dizzy intercepted him using her other wing, Necro, to form a mini wheel of flaming scythes. Slayer was struck and left to ascend with the projectile, but quickly got away from it. This time Sol chanced at intercepting Slayer in the air as he jumped towards the Nightwalker, a spark of fire appearing on his left fist where he held Fire Seal.

"Not quite..."

Slayer said as he turned to see Sol bring his fist forward, the fire on his fist exploding into an arrow shaped flame. Sol thought he had him until Slayer moved himself out of the way to deliver a downward punch that sent Sol face first with the ground. Slayer teleported after this and reappeared on the ground a few feet away. Dizzy came forward, crouching suddenly as Undine appeared and made a large jagged icicle pop up under Slayer. He evaded it with yet another of his teleporting techniques and appeared in front of a surprised Dizzy. Before she could react, smoke filled her vision and she began coughing. Before she knew it she felt her legs get kicked out from under her and she met face first with the ground.

"Ow..."

She groaned as she rubbed her head. She saw Slayer sitting on his cape, cross legged.

"Due to Mr. Badguy's black flame technique, I would have to say your start was okay at best. Your teamwork will need some improvement. Once that is obtained, I have a feeling you will all start doing better. Adaption is key."

Slayer said. Sol got up slowly.

"This guy's a pain in the ass, but he would make for an interesting sparring partner..."

Sol muttered. He looked towards Dizzy.

"Dizzy, you go first this time."

He told her. Dizzy thought she might get pale, but refused to give in to fear and stood up tall.

'Justice, since we can communicate like this, were going to have to try and assist Dizzy as she goes first.'

He told her. Justice understood.

'Alright, lead the way.'

She said. Dizzy dashed, or rather, hovered towards Slayer as he rose from his sitting position. He readied himself to go on the defensive against her, but Dizzy ended up skidding to a stop with her arms crossed over her chest. She extended her arms outward shortly and sent a large trail of fire aimed at Slayer.

'Teleport behind him and push him into the attack, Justice, before he teleports himself.'

Sol ordered. Justice disappeared in a rising ring of light, appearing behind Slayer. This caught his attention and he turned to see, distracted from Dizzy's attack for a split second. Justice rammed him in the back with her shoulder, making Slayer lose balance. Slayer grunted as he went forward and connected with the raging flames, Justice swiftly moved to the side in order to evade the attack so she wouldn't get caught up in it.

'Okay...I guess this scythe will enhance the type of magic I like using, which happens to be fire. It also renders him unable to regenerate very quickly at all...all I have to do is have Dizzy and Justice juggle him around in the air and allow me to get some black flame magic hits in...well, it's a start...'

Sol told himself. He rushed towards Slayer, who was still riding the wave of flames trailing from the ground. Sol smirked before jumping up into the air.

"Tyrant Rave Alpha!"

Sol tested to see if he could use a black flame version of his earlier attack against one of the Assassins. To his surprise he was able to pull it off, and the smirk on his face grew wider.

'That bastard was right, this thing isn't hard to use at all once you figure it out...I probably don't even need Fire Seal, but I won't get too cocky. Hey Justice get ready to intercept him after I hit him with this attack. Send him over towards Dizzy and have her attack him afterwards...'

He said. Justice complied, waiting for his attack to meet with Slayers. The flames from Dizzy's attack finally dispersed, but before Slayer could do anything else, Sol struck him with the black flame, making Slayer grunt in pain as he was engulfed. Sol's attack served to pop Slayer up higher into the air. Justice jumped up to strike Slayer with several swift blows of her claws as she ascended with him. When she felt the time was right she turned towards Dizzy.

"Dizzy, catch!"

Justice swung her electrically charged tail downward, catching Slayer and slamming him down towards Dizzy's direction. Unfortunately for Dizzy, she was too awed by the tag teaming techniques her parents pulled off and was kind of left in a trance from it all. That was because she originally wasn't a fighter like they were. Fortunately for her black wing, Necro, he responded quickly to Justice's words. Dizzy held her hands to her head as she felt herself losing control, not even noticing when an eerie black portal opened in the ground in front of her to swallow Slayer up when he descended. Everything went black for a while after that, as Necro took control and aimed at the standing grave that rose up from the ground with a special bow that shot magic arrows that struck the coffin, shattering it. Dizzy was finally able to see again as her mother touched ground.

"Oh no, I blacked out again..."

Dizzy whispered, worried. The only other time something similar happened was when she was forced to fight I-No.

"Good work, Dizzy."

Justice said, praising her daughter. Dizzy blushed. The moment was short lived, however.

"LOOK OUT!!"

They heard Sol roar. They turned to see Slayer coming at them at incredible speed as he glided through the air, his fist extended outward to strike the two down. Justice quickly pushed Dizzy out of harms way before taking a defensive posture. The hit from Slayer was indeed power, and knocked her back exceptionally far upon impact, and making her skid across the floor on her feet. She was about to retaliate, but Slayer ended up behind her, ramming her hard in the back with his shoulder and making her topple over.

"Bastard..."

Sol snarled as he came quickly forward to strike Slayer. Before Sol could reach the Nightwalker, however, Slayer grabbed his cape and swung it outward in an overhead fashion, letting it enlarge to strike all three of the Gears. Before they knew it, they were falling from the ceiling, landing in random areas around the room.

"What just happened...?"

Dizzy said as she got up from the ground Slayer simply clapped.

"Ah, much better display. That indeed was a far more superior start compared to the last round. And those black flames you keep conjuring are very effective, Mr. Badguy. I haven't felt this kind of pain for eons. And it's all thanks to you. I'm almost satisfied, so I must insist you three continue the good work."

Slayer commented them. Sol got up and shrugged.

'Easy for him to say. He's stepping things up gradually as we continue, and I'm usually not the one to over exert myself given the chance. Guess this just isn't one of my days.'

Sol thought to himself, grimly. He knew he couldn't hold back against Slayer, but old habits die hard. Slayer stood ahead of him, adjusting his neck tie casually as if he didn't have a care in the world. This made a small smirk form on Sol's lips. He rotated his shoulder blades and shifted his neck from side to side to remove all the kinks left, his smirk growing wider. He felt something writhe awake within him.

'Funny...this guy reminds me a lot of myself. Take all that regal feel about him away and he would even kind of act and sound like me, too. Interesting..."

Sol's smirk continued to expand. He knew it wasn't the right time to analyze his opponent like this, but for some reason, he couldn't help himself. Slayer's brow raised in question.

"Is something the matter, Mr. Badguy? You seem...distracted about something. Care to enlighten me?"

He asked. Sol's smirk became a grin.

"Distracted? Sorry, but my vision has been clear on the mark from the beginning to now. And it's only gotten clearer. It's time for me to take my family out of this place and back to the surface. Not even someone like you will stop me any longer."

Sol stated. He plunged the Fire Seal into the ground, leaving it behind.

'Release Me...'

Sol clutched his head piece. The Gear nature wanted out. It wanted full control.

'This is risky. Can we really trust you?'

His Human side questioned.

'How can you not? We have clung together for so long and I have shown no sign of hostility towards you, Frederick. We have both agreed who would be the leader of the body, and that was our creation, the one who calls himself Sol Badguy. Why now do you show so much more resistance to me compared to that day long ago when we agreed to create him?'

The Gear nature questioned back. Sol didn't know what happened, but he was no longer in the large room of the underground laboratory, facing Slayer. Everything had gone black around him and all he could hear were the voices of the two other personas from which he was created.

'That's the longest I've heard you speak since...ever. Not even when we agreed to the creation of Sol did you speak so much. What's bringing this all on, all of a sudden?'

The Human side asked, sounding rather intrigued.

'...Because I was to incompetent, I let Dizzy get captured by our enemy's servants only a few days ago. She would not have to be fighting anyone if she had been saved back then. Even if she is a Gear, her peaceful upbringing does not make her suited for battles like this, unlike our Gear brethren who fought in the Crusades.'

The Gear side said softly. The Human side seemed touched.

'I can understand that. Still...your waiting may have been better for Dizzy in the long run. Hear me out on this: With you deciding to leave everything to Sol and eventually letting Dizzy get kidnaped, she was able to free Justice, who in turn led Sol here so that he could destroy that Man once and for all. Slayer may be the strongest one alive on this planet, but he is going easy on us because he sympathizes with Sol. On the whole, if we can take care of Slayer's need here and now, when everything is all said and done, Dizzy will come out of this experience with not only her father...but her mother as well. Anyway, all you need is Sol's approval. You've convinced me by your words, already...'

The Human side said. Sol regained his focus, finding himself kneeling on the ground. Dizzy and Justice were on either side of him, holding on each of his arms.

"Dad, what's wrong?"

Dizzy asked, sounding rather frantic. Sol stood up, smiling down at both of them.

"You two both have helped a lot. I want to take care of things now from here on out, though."

He told them. Sol walked past them towards Slayer.

"Well Slayer, let's enjoy a great show time."

With that, Sol blacked out once more, letting his complete Gear self take over his body for him. There was indeed a risk to letting the Gear nature take control of his body, but as it was with the case of Slayer, Sol was willing to take that risk.

:::xXx:::

Johnny's, Sol's room

"Uhhh...what the hell happened...?"

Sol said groggily to himself. He lifted himself upright to sit in his bed, rubbing his eyes with his left hand. Sol felt really stiff all over his body, and the simple action of sitting up made his back ache.

"Shit...I don't think I've ever felt this sore before since...ever. Was that whole thing with that bastard and Slayer all just some kind of dream?"

Sol grumbled to himself.

"No, it all happened."

A female voice said to the side of him. Sol, having been caught off guard, fell off his bed.

"...now that fucking hurt."

Sol muttered to himself as he felt many of his joints pop audibly with his actions.

"You okay?"

Justice peered from her vantage point on the bed over at Sol who was sprawled on the ground.

"Justice...damn, you scared me half to death. Is Dizzy okay?...And what happened with Slayer?"

He asked as he got up. Justice nodded.

"Dizzy's just fine. What ever you pulled off against Slayer, though...I don't know, but I will say that it was something I've never seen you do before..."

Before she could say anything more, Sol interrupted her by kissing her on the lips. The action was so sudden, Justice was caught completely off guard. After a lengthy moment, Sol finally released her lips, but kept his arms around her waist.

"Forget it, I don't want to know as long as I won and you two are safe and alive. As for the kiss, that was just to get payback for surprising me and making me fall out of the bed. Anyway, did Slayer say anything afterwards?"

He asked her. Justice didn't answer him immediately, due to her surprise over the kiss, but she quickly got over it and continued to talk.

"All he said was that it was fun and that the two of you should spar sometime in the future. Afterwards a woman appeared besides him and the two disappeared without a trace."

Justice answered. Sol nodded.

"I see..."

Was all he said before he resumed kissing her.

"Where'd you get those?"

Sol asked, referring to Justice's pajamas. She blushed slightly.

"Well, besides these, I only have a few more sets of clothing that Dizzy bought for me four days ago. That's how long you've been sleeping for, you know?"

Justice told him. Sol nodded.

"Feels like I've been sleeping for that long."

Sol commented. He was just about to take things further, when who should up and walk in but Johnny.

"Hey, how is Sol...HOLY SHIT!!!!!"

Johnny was stunned to say the least. He was being glared at with three flaring golden eyes, plus one crimson eye. He averted his gaze, which only fell on Justice's exposed breasts since Sol had his arm under her shirt to lift it over her head before the two were rudely walked in on. Of course, Johnny's scream alerted the rest of the girls within the place and they all now crowded the doorway to peer at the couple. Sol was getting annoyed, as was Justice.

"DO YOU FUCKING MIND???!!!"

The two Gears roared. The door was slammed shut in record time.

"Damn...we are so dead now..."

One of the girls said. Johnny couldn't help but agree with that statement.

:::xXx:::

Dizzy got home a few hours later from some shopping, along with Testament, to get her mind off her comatose father, who had been asleep for four days so far. The two went to check in on Sol and Justice, but ran into Johnny, who had his back to them and seemed to be listening in on something along the wall because his head was against it.

"Damn...still going at it. Gears must have a lot of stamina."

Johnny mumbled as he turned around and began to walk away when he noticed Testament and Dizzy.

"Oh, you two are back. Uh...just so you know Dizzy, Sol has awaken finally."

Johnny said. Dizzy's eyes sparkled.

"Really? Then I'll go check in on..."

Before she could move forward, Johnny halted her.

"Sorry, Dizzy. You may not want to walk in on them right now."

Johnny said in a nervous voice before walking by. Dizzy stared at his retreating form, confused.

"Huh?"

Was all she got out. She decided to disregard Johnny's warning and was going to go to the door, but Testament stopped her by putting a hand on her shoulder.

"He's right, Dizzy. It would be best to leave them alone for now."

He told her. Dizzy now looked at him confused.

"You too, Testament?"

She asked. His eyes were closed, and his cheeks were slightly flushed.

"Just listen. Can't you hear it?"

He said. Dizzy decided to use her Gear senses. What she heard with them made her face go red with embarrassment.

"Yeah...I guess we wait then."

She said. Testament only nodded.

About four hours since that time, Sol finally left the room, Justice not too far behind him.

"That was nice. Been awhile since we've done that, eh?"

Sol said as he stretched, a grin on his face. He was in a good mood. Justice nodded.

"Yeah...but now I'm starving. It's a little after noon, so we could still get something to eat for lunch if you want."

Justice said to him. Sol agreed.

"Yeah, good idea. I feel like I could eat a couple of Humans if I wanted to. Preferably one of those Humans would be Johnny."

Sol joked. After he said that, the said person came into view.

"Er...Hey Sol, just want to let you know that Ky just got here. You should probably go meet him now."

Was all Johnny said as he quickly went out of sight again. Sol groaned.

"Damn it all...That boy always seems to come over when I'm in a good mood."

Sol muttered. Never the less, Sol made his way to the front of the air ship to meet with the police officer, and Justice followed behind him. Ky waited patiently by the front door. Sol decided to use his usual annoyed mode.

"What do you want now, boy?"

Sol said, a frown on his face. Ky merely shrugged Sol's attitude off.

"Nice to see you've regained consciousness, Sol. Too bad your manners haven't improved much. Anyway, as you know, in normal circumstances most people would panic if they knew Justice was still alive. To clear you of being guilty for her resurrection, I have informed the public that you helped in the destruction of Justice four days ago. Of course, all of us here will know the truth that Justice has regained her free will and is living here with you now. I suggest you either have her name changed, or simply don't call her by her name in public at all. Now then, if you will excuse me, I have to attend to my own family now. Good day."

Ky bowed his head slightly, before turning to open the door.

"Wait, boy. I have one question. What happened to Raven and I-No? And what about the Outrage?"

Sol asked, stopping Ky from leaving. Ky stood at the door, not turning to face him.

"After a long battle with those two, our team finally overcame them with our greater numbers. I had tied them up to be placed under arrest once we found you and Dizzy, but after retrieving you, they were nowhere to be found. All we were able to bring up with us were the assassins. As for the Outrage, both of the swords were recovered successfully."

Ky explained.

"Was there also a scythe there, too?"

Sol asked him.

"No...nothing like that was seen save for the two swords. Why? Should there have been? Was it another Outrage or something?"

Ky turned to Sol, his eyes showing with intrigue. Sol shook his head.

"Forget it, just must have been my imagination then. Besides, you already have the whole set, right?"

Sol lied. Ky nodded.

"That's true. Well, I should be going. And remember Sol, you have three more weeks before the end of this month, so I'll check in on you then."

Ky informed him. Sol sighed.

"Yeah, yeah."

Sol said unenthusiastically. Ky finally left.

"Dad, your awake now!"

Sol turned to receive a bone crushing hug from his daughter.

"Whoa, easy there, Dizzy. I'm not as young as I used to be, you know?"

He said. Dizzy didn't seem to hear him as she held on to him tighter. He put a hand on her head, ruffling her hair a bit when he felt his shirt getting wet.

"There's no need to be crying, Dizzy. You should be happy. In just one week's time you got to meet both your parents, right? And we're both still here with you, too."

Sol said, trying to comfort her.

"I am happy, Dad. These are tears of joy. I got to find out who my parents are, and they are both here with me right now. I don't think I could be happier than I am now."

Dizzy stated. Justice put a comforting hand on Dizzy's shoulder.

"We'll always be here for you, Dizzy."

She said. Dizzy wiped her tears away and nodded, a smile gracing her lips.

"We should get everyone together and celebrate with a big party. You did save the world after all, Dad."

Dizzy said. Sol shook his head.

"We all did our part against Slayer. So we all saved this little planet we call home."

Sol said.

"Well, if that's your logic, then I won't argue with it."

Justice said. Dizzy nodded.

"I think I know just the place we should go, too. We should invite everyone. Johnny and the crew, Officer Ky and his family, Baiken and her two companions, Dr. Baldhead, Testament of course and...hmmm...who else is there?"

Dizzy pondered as she counted off with her fingers. Sol shrugged.

"Just have Johnny and the boy make all the calling. They seem to have all the connections here in Zepp...and just about everywhere else."

Sol said.

"Well, whatever the case may be, I'm still hungry so I hope those two can get everyone rounded up quickly."

Justice said to Sol. Sol nodded.

"Yeah, me too."

:::xXx:::

And so...

In the end, everything turned out for the better. Dizzy was reunited with both her parents, who got their revenge against their nemesis after so many years of waiting. Ky and his family will be around for another month and three weeks on their vacation, much to the annoyance of Sol. Johnny and the crew (including Potemkin.) are of course still around considering they live in Zepp. Baiken is miffed because she didn't get to kill That Man herself, but hopefully she'll get over it in due time. Anji and Chipp still live in her house. Faust is still the top doctor on Zepp, and with Ky coming to Zepp, Faust finally had someone to exorcize his patient, Zappa (it's about time he did, too...). And last but not least, Axl is also hanging around in Zepp with his wife Megumi. Now then...whatever happened to Raven and I-No?

:::xXx:::

Unknown...

"I still can't believe we got bested by only a small group of people...damn it, this fucking blows. We could take down armies bigger than them, and we still failed."

I-No had been ranting while she tuned the strings of her guitar.

"Think for a moment, I-No. Don't forget that many of the opponents we faced were amongst some of the most powerful mortals alive. They make any normal army of simple warriors look weak anytime, anywhere."

Raven explained to her. I-No sighed.

"Yeah, I guess so. Looks like none of our efforts helped in the matter, considering our master is dead, though."

She stated. Raven nodded.

"Indeed. Although I have been angered by this over the past few days, I have a feeling that this all ended out the way it did for the better. Our master wanted death, because his sins became too much of a burden to carry, and there was no one out there who was willing to help him except for us...and even we weren't enough. Only the one who used to call him father could also be his savior."

Raven stated.

"Yeah. I guess another good thing to come out of that big battle is that were both finally free as well. Maybe it's time to go out and start a band. I've always wanted to do that at least once in my life."

I-No said as she got up and stretched. Raven eyed her curiously.

"You want to start a band?"

He asked, as if not believing his ears. I-No glared at him.

"What? You don't think I got the talent to start a band?"

She asked him, her glare sharpening. Raven held up both hands apologetically.

"No, it's not that. You have plenty of talent. Just, you never seemed to strike me as a woman who wanted anything other than her eternal youth, that's all."

He replied. I-No's eyes soften as she held out a hand.

"Why don't you join me? I'm sure we can find some kind of affinity towards a musical instrument you could use."

She said. Raven sighed.

"I doubt it. As much as I'd like to help, making me one of the band members would probably not be a good idea."

He stated. I-No laughed.

"Ah, you never know. It's about time we got rid of this depressing aura you always have about you, anyway."

She told him. Raven simply shrugged.

"I suppose. But I rather like being the dark depressed person that I am."

Raven said softly. Now it was I-No's turn to shrug.

"Suit yourself. Now come on, we have band members to scout for."

She said, walking away. Raven got up to follow her.

"Do you even have some kind of a name for this band you want to start?"

He asked her. I-No thought for a moment as she walked.

"How about -The Midnight Carnival-?"

She said.

"The Midnight Carnival?"

He repeated. I-No nodded.

"Kind of catchy, don't you think?"

She responded back. He thought about it for a little bit.

"Yeah, it is. A bit odd, though, if you ask me."

He said. I-No laughed.

"Don't worry. There are plenty of weirder names out there for bands anyway."

She told him. Raven nodded.

"If you say so."

He said. The two walked away, to start new lives for themselves. Maybe even the bad guys can have happy endings, too.

-END- 

Note: Well, this is the final chapter. If you liked this story of mine, hopefully, you'll like others by me as well. Thanks for reading. See you again.

-_Illuminet_


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